This refers to the editorial, ‘Together & apart, animals in a human world’ (IE, May 23). First of all, thank you for the information about this important research. GPS collars, camera traps, drone surveys… we have perfected the art of watching, even as what we watch steadily recedes. We have learnt to follow every moment but not step back. The editorial tells us, quite sensibly, that nature is complex, that animals respond differently to human presence and that conservation requires long-term, painstaking effort, not slogans like “nature is healing” that went viral alongside the coronavirus. I agree. Nature is not healing. It is negotiating. And not from a position of strength.

Where I must disagree is with the comfort embedded in your phrase, “long-haul work”. “Long haul” is, after........

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