kaiser soze
12-15-2006, 12:11 AM
It is truly amazing and appalling when you discover an animal by learning of it's extinction :(
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121302039.html
SHANGHAI, Dec. 13 -- For millions of years, the Chinese river dolphin basked in the waters of the mighty Yangtze, a gray phantom more than six feet long with a sharp snout and tiny eyes. The endearing creature, which the Chinese call baiji, was the stuff of legend, a goddess to some, and the delight of fishermen who occasionally saw one break the water's surface.
News came Wednesday that they were right: Development in China has in all likelihood extinguished the baiji, erasing the species from the planet. An expedition of some of the world's leading experts, equipped with sophisticated viewing equipment and ultra-sensitive microphones, announced it had ended its mission after five weeks on the river without detecting any sign of surviving baijis.
I feel guilty for another animal becoming nonexistent, humanity lacks the insight to preserve the very species that have helped created our very existence. When all the animals are gone, we too will be sitting on the edge of becoming nothing.
The only planet around with such diverse life and it's a shame we the humans will bring this planet closer to becoming like the others...lifeless.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121302039.html
SHANGHAI, Dec. 13 -- For millions of years, the Chinese river dolphin basked in the waters of the mighty Yangtze, a gray phantom more than six feet long with a sharp snout and tiny eyes. The endearing creature, which the Chinese call baiji, was the stuff of legend, a goddess to some, and the delight of fishermen who occasionally saw one break the water's surface.
News came Wednesday that they were right: Development in China has in all likelihood extinguished the baiji, erasing the species from the planet. An expedition of some of the world's leading experts, equipped with sophisticated viewing equipment and ultra-sensitive microphones, announced it had ended its mission after five weeks on the river without detecting any sign of surviving baijis.
I feel guilty for another animal becoming nonexistent, humanity lacks the insight to preserve the very species that have helped created our very existence. When all the animals are gone, we too will be sitting on the edge of becoming nothing.
The only planet around with such diverse life and it's a shame we the humans will bring this planet closer to becoming like the others...lifeless.