Centuries to come -- if we don't nuke ourselves -- the sum total of all animals (maybe plants) will be contained on minute reserves. That is, if we manage to finally figure out how to stop the chaos of falling/rising governments, discord and the sheer ignorance on the planet.
The stories behind the last of a species are heart breaking. In 1922, the last Barbary Lion found itself in the sights of a hunter's rifle. The sound of that gunshot marked the end of that animal, and that hunter -- who cared about nothing more than killing it -- had the privilege of being the last human on earth to see the largest of all modern lions alive.
I could go on, but this morning, the wired story of how the founders of modern America perceived the Pleistocene bones being discovered in the east, of titan, elephant-like animals, was both entertaining and sad.
A. Extinction was not a concept. These animals must _still_ be alive, somewhere, on the continent.
B. They are carnivorous! And should be feared!
The truth was:
C. They were herbivores, and they are gone forever....
Hopefully, not forever: the Barbary Lion has returned, in 2010, in the form of 2 cubs, made possible thanks to the efforts of biologists who searched for their descendants in zoos across the world. Maybe, one day, we'll see mastodon babies too....
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| What a flesh-eating Mastodon may look like |
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