Apex, But Not Above The Law
- Gregory Andrews
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Power, perspective and the wedge-tailed eagle - #FloraAndFaunaFriday
There are few, if any, birds in Australia that command the sky like the Wedge-tailed Eagle.
With a wingspan stretching close to three metres. Eyes that can read a paddock from kilometres away. And a presence that doesn’t flap and fuss - wedgies soar, steady and sovereign.
And here’s something I’ve always loved: the female is larger than the male. As with most raptors, female wedgies outweigh and outspan their male partners. They're the bigger bird. The stronger bird. Power, in this species, isn't arranged according to human assumptions.
That alone is worth pausing on.
On D’harawal Country where I'm from, the wedge-tailed eagle is known as Mananga. My Aunty Fran and cousin Gawaian have shared the story of Mananga - a being of watchfulness and consequence, one who sees far and judges wisely. Mananga isn't reckless strength. She is discerning authority. She surveys before she acts. She's power with perspective.
That feels important right now.
Because we are living in a time when power is often invited, platformed and protected without enough public scrutiny about how it is used. Take the invited visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Our leaders rolled out red carpets. They shook hands and joked. But they didn't ask the harder questions that Mananga would.
A wedge-tailed eagle is an apex predator. But “apex” doesn't mean unchecked. In a healthy system, the eagle belongs to the web. Remove her and the system falters. Let her overreach and the system falters too. True strength sits inside balance. Nature is clear about that.
Leadership isn't about spectacle or abuse of power. It is about responsibility. It is about seeing the whole landscape - the weak and the strong, the short term and the long term - and acting in a way that maintains equilibrium.
In the wedgie’s world, the biggest bird is also the one that carries the most weight. That’s not dominance for its own sake. That’s ecological truth.
So this #FloraAndFaunaFriday, I’m thinking about Mananga. About female-led power. About perspective. About how Australia’s largest raptor teaches us something that politics too often forgets: Power without accountability corrodes. Power with vision sustains.
The eagle climbs high enough to see clearly. Australia's leaders should too.
Gregory great tale about moral leadership that includes acting responsibly for all not for a noisy minority who have a very damaging and prejudiced view.
Thanks for the wedgie-view Mananga insight. Love the pic of your tentative reaching out to the Mananga in CentralOz too. Two points: 1. Can we make that a hashtag!! Maybe you could improve my suggestions here. Hashtags are trackable socio-political ephemera & quite important for tracking current thinking and activation, as I understand from my small learning in my brief digital humanities at WSU studies. #WedgieView. #ManangaView #WedgetailedEagleView #EagleEyePolitics You’ve been beautifully thought-provoking with this quite perfect analogy & pause-point for current issues in politics & life. 2. Agree and love the subtlety of the view (and your beautiful ‘nature’ writing herein), as applied to the Israeli President visit timing, impact & lack of the Mananga view. Reminds me just…
Thank You Gregory. Your words have helped me to connect back into a place that is wise beyond words. I have been shocked, sickened, heart broken, horrified and 'YES' angry in all those emotions that are so near the surface particularly when the life and well being of a huge part of our human race is currently being denied and swept under the rubble of destruction;- dead or alive.
I've been writing quite a bit during the latest shock wave that hit Australia over the past few days with the terrible and 'unacceptable acceptance' of Herzog into the welcoming arms of the Australian Prime Minister and their fellow band of eager sycophants.
My writings felt unbelievably painful, private and held…
Yes I love wedgies. They’re a magnificent bird and just like cassowaries the female is the larger bird. I vividly remember driving past one in the middle of the road that was feasting on some roadkill. I stopped my car wound the window down and told her to get off the road. She looked at me and dug her talents into what must’ve been at least a 50 kg kangaroo carcass and then flapping her wings dragged the carcass off to the side of the road. We sat staring at each other for a good few minutes and then I drove off a magical experience.
It was always a sheer delight to fly our hang-gliders above Lake Perkolilli, north-east of Kalgoorlie, because we would often be able to see the Wedgies circling in thermal lift, and go and join them, and vice-versa! They would sometimes see one of us in lift and fly over to join us! The exception was anywhere near nesting season. In that case, an eagle would fly over and dive-bomb the glider, hitting the leading edge with its talons as it went past. It would then be time to make haste away from that spot.