Giants Without Witness

In this conservation poem, ecologist and poet Dr. Aashna Sharma gives voice to the often-overlooked freshwater megafauna—a league of gentle giants evolving silently within the world's rivers, lakes, and wetlands. While terrestrial icons like elephants and rhinos captivate public imagination, their aquatic counterparts—river dolphins, gharials, wild water buffalo, and flapshell turtles—remain largely unseen, unheard, and underprotected.

Through lyrical verse, Dr. Sharma highlights the deep evolutionary history, ecological significance, and growing vulnerability of these species in human-dominated landscapes. The poem is both a tribute and a rallying cry: urging scientists, naturalists, and readers alike to step into the field, to notice, and to protect. In doing so, it underscores a deeper message—that thriving rivers are a living legacy we must leave behind.

https://poetsforscience.org/giants-without-witness/