At 7 feet, 9 inches tall, Bao Xishun is no stranger to flashing cameras and his image being splashed across newspapers and TV screens. His affair with the media began last year when the Guinness World Records confirmed him as the world's tallest living man.

Bao overtook previous record-holder Radhouane Charbib of Tunisia by just 2 millimetres. Bao was a normal height until the age of 16. After that, he had a growth spurt that doctors could not explain. It took him just seven years to grow to his present height from that of a normal 16-year-old.

So it came as no surprise when an aquatic park in Fushun, Liaoning Province, sought the services of the herdsman from Inner Mongolia last week to perform a most unusual task.

The world's tallest man had to save two dolphins by using his long arms to reach into their stomachs and pull out the dangerous plastic shards that they had accidentally swallowed. The park sought his help after veterinarians' repeated attempts to extract them had failed. Bao was expected to do what artificial instruments could not because the dolphins contracted their stomachs each time the arm-like tools were inserted in their mouths.

The dolphins had lost their appetite and could have died if the plastic shards were not removed.

Bao reached the mammals' stomachs, extending his 3.5-foot arm as attendants held back the dolphins' heads. Towels were wrapped around their teeth to prevent him from getting bitten.

The dolphins are now "in very good condition," even though "some very small plastic pieces are still in their stomachs." Vets expect the dolphins to "digest" the pieces and make a full recovery soon.

Bao's heroic act should remind us what we humans are capable of if we have the determination, of course. We have the power to make Earth a better place by giving all its other creatures an equal chance to survive. But given the rate at which we are killing the other living beings of this planet, it will not be long before we lose that power.

Many may argue that this world and all its creatures are going through constant evolution, and only the fittest have the right to survive. That, my friends, is like trying to stand Charles Darwin's theory on its head. For evolution is not about the rampant destruction of the home that we live in.

It is people like Bao who every now and then flash a ray of hope that we could still make a difference despite the melting Arctic ice, dwindling rainforests, receding glaciers, encroaching deserts, increasing ozone holes and rising oceans. Bao represents those hundreds of thousands of faceless fighters that want to see a better world a world free of pollution, a world full of greenery and a world devoid of natural disasters.

For every Bao, we have a hundred, if not a thousand, unknown fighters trying to hand over a cleaner and better Earth to our children.

You must be wondering how Bao has all of a sudden become an environmentalist, especially when he is herdsman. Are not herds of cattle and flocks of sheep one of the greatest threats to forests? And are not herdsmen and their occupation principally to blame for that? That may be true, but then there are the herdsmen who graze their cattle and sheep only in designated areas and even if they cross the line, they do so to earn a living, not out of greed.

To me Bao has become a symbol of conservation because he is able to inspire many children to love and respect all the living beings on Earth. Just imagine what the world would be if each of us, like Bao, could save just two plants or animals, especially those that are endangered or threatened.

I know it is a tough ask, but at least we can try.

(China Daily 12/22/2006 page4)