Today it was announced that the last male Northern White Rhinoceros died, he was 45 and lived in a sanctuary surrounded by heavily armed guards. This is probably the end of the species as two females remain but never seemed to be able to breed.
Many evenings I watch documentaries about the accomplishments of mankind, computers, cars, flight, disease prevention and space exploration. Sometimes watching these shows a person can forget about the flip side of mankind. This would be one of those ugly moments. Man can be such a twit, the loss of such a rare animal because of ignorance and superstition. If you can't get an erection, Viagra is a better option than rhino. If it's for fertility, what, seven billion people isn't enough?
It's sad to think that one day children will look at pictures of wild animals and ask their grandparents what it was like to have them around. This is one reason I feel that zoos are a good source of genetic preservation to keep animals from going over the edge. As long as it's done right and they are well taken care of, which I think most zoos in western countries are striving for. It would be sad for a struggling country to finally get their act together, only to discover that it's too late. Maybe it's already too late unless humans rethink population growth.
Unlike the first man on the moon or the invention of personal computers, this is a sad historical moment because regarding the younger generations coming up, we get to say, "I remember when the White Rhinos died out". That's not a legacy to be proud of.
And people wonder why I got Poison Ivy!!!!! Some days I really can not stand humans. They never learn, or learn from past mistakes. Animals and plants are dear to me and can't stand to see the the extermination of them. I sometimes think the planet needs another plague and put the human race back right and control the over population. I told you I could be mean and villianess.
ReplyDeleteOne a side note, I read the title at first as erection. I thought ohhhhhh, who got Steven turned on now?
Maddie, I understand your frustration and mankind as a whole can be pretty stupid but you must be cautious with that thinking. Don't forget many people believe Aids is a plague sent to clean up the world. Straight people just need to get fixed after two or three kids! See less villainous.
DeleteErection! That says so much about you Maddie, and I like what it says. Lol
We see the cliff approaching and drive forward as fast as we can. But don't worry! We will de-extinct passenger pigeons and mammoths soon!
ReplyDeleteIt is not surprising to me that we pay attention to rhinos and sharks, since it's them furriners (namely, the Chinese) who have market demand for these animals. There is a geopolitical agenda here. That does not detract from the fact that all our hands are bloody, but it is interesting to note which extinctions we feel outraged about and which we barely register.
Mr Lurker, not a fan of more pigeons but bring on the mammoths and maybe a few dodo birds too! We are reversing it in North America, there are some comeback stories. I am all for the extinction of mosquitoes!!! There are many groups out there to help the ugly animals, people are trying to bring back snakes, alligators etc, so I think some people are waking up. Just for some animals that breed slow it may be too late.
DeleteSuch sad news.
ReplyDeleteMr Lurker, yes but dodo birds can't fly so they can't poop on your head. The early settlers wrote that they tasted disgusting, they now know it was more likely that dogs and pigs brought with them were the real reason that dodo birds died out. Nature's Frankenpigeons.
ReplyDeleteRJ, yes very sad and frustrating.
ReplyDelete