At the start of this unique story, Leopold shows the death of a deer from the perspective of a deer, coyote and human hunter. Later as the story progresses Leopold explains the unknown perspective of the mountain, that knows more than any species. The mountain, seeing everything from beginning to end, realizes all the balance needed to sustain ecosystems and all it's inhabitants. However, when the hunter killed a wolf he thinks only that it will diminish competition for deer. What the hunter does not realize, is that by doing this, he is disrupting the entire cycle of life. He doesn't know that by killing this wolf he is allowing the deer to thrive and destroy the mountain with over consumption due to a increased population. He doesn't know that by having a balance of wolves and deer, their habitat will flourish and keep both species healthy. The mountain can take in all that is around it, and realize what will happen when a cycle is tilted off balance, but the short sighted hunter only sees one aspect of this process, the aspect that supports his immediate dreams.
This article was very eye opening and took a different approach on ecological balance. Although I respect and try to see every perspective of the world, Leopold made a very interesting point about nature that is not always noticeable.
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