Netflix’s documentary Our Planet portrays the stunning resilience of nature. As the documentary shows, forests are much more than a community of vegetation. They are ecosystems. Animals and plants interact with each other and that mutual dependence allows them to thrive together. I was very impressed by the relationship that honeydew, the secretion of insects produced as they feed on plants, are consumed by lemurs. But mutual dependence (aka. “symbiosis”) is only one part of the interactions: competitions are equally important. Not only do animals compete with predators and preys for life, they also compete with those in the same species for mating. The competition for mating can be so fierce that it results in the death of some individuals. However, competition and mutual dependence bring nature vigor and resilience, allowing the whole ecosystem to adapt and to evolve.

To me, the most impressive part of the documentary was how Chernobyl became recolonized by plants and animals after being deserted as an uninhabitable ghost town. Radiation was lethal for humans, and it would not go away for 2000 years; but the lack of human activity opens up a whole new opportunity for trees and wild life. The area was gradually covered by thick vegetation, small animals such as birds and rabbits began to appear, and eventually even top predators like wolves returned. I was glad to see nature’s incredible power of transformation, yet I also couldn’t help wondering how radiation does not seem to affect animals at all. As we appreciate the resilience of nature, it is important to note that the resilience isn’t unbounded. Once we reach a certain threshold of destruction, the damage we’ve done will be irreversible. Protecting the nature should be a continuous process, and it requires our action.