THERE ARE TIMES in life when forces strike that shake away our complacency. So it was on 20 March 2006 when Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry lashed far north Queensland. Though far removed from the violence of that day, I soon found myself drawn into itsvortex. Touring the north some weeks after the event I saw ruined homes, flattened crops and splintered forests — and encouraging signs of lives recovering from shock and disarray. Journalists who talk about cyclones often fall back on the cliche of mother nature venting her fury against humankind. Larry was certainly portrayed like that. But if cyclones signify nature against humans, they also demonstrate nature against nature, for many of their victims are animals and plants. In shattered woodlandsand shaken seas the toll on wildlife is enormous.
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