Some creatures ‘take damage’ to protect others… This is an old agreement between living beings. To act as a shield that absorbs harm that must otherwise fall elsewhere. This is one of the truly ancient agreements. The principle preserves both individuals and diversity. This benefits everyone, in ways that are not merely statistical…

Organisms ‘buffer’ a kind of damage or harm we have no ordinary word for. So the bees, as an example, take damage that we (and other living beings) must otherwise suffer. Or the whales. But when we become the damage they take, how then shall they protect us?