Extinction is forever

[jameswaller]

who opened this can of worms,..-call it what you want,,global-problem,whether its man made or not,.we are all in the same small ecoshere of life,it is changing,the weather patterns will be more extreme,the earth changes-the-last mini iceage 1315ad-to-1815ad-500 years long.,google 1815 the year without a summer,...man is the most adaptable mammal on the planet-but most of us will be gone-,the industrial revolution post 1815ad for which some of mankind progressed,has left said planet in a very sad state,,so where do we go from here,,we are all contributors-kneeling down is-not going to help,affirmitive action will cost/bankrupt any country,.we can slow the enivitable down,but we are-not going to stop it-big changes are coming-extinctions,are part of the cycle,..i think it helps to discuss this-however this is a website for life/about(pigeons)-,sincerely james waller

[mr squeaks]

Originally Posted by jameswaller

who opened this can of worms,..-call it what you want,,global-problem,whether its man made or not,.we are all in the same small ecoshere of life,it is changing,the weather patterns will be more extreme,the earth changes-the-last mini iceage 1315ad-to-1815ad-500 years long.,google 1815 the year without a summer,...man is the most adaptable mammal on the planet-but most of us will be gone-,the industrial revolution post 1815ad for which some of mankind progressed,has left said planet in a very sad state,,so where do we go from here,,we are all contributors-kneeling down is-not going to help,affirmitive action will cost/bankrupt any country,.we can slow the enivitable down,but we are-not going to stop it-big changes are coming-extinctions,are part of the cycle,..i think it helps to discuss this-however this is a website for life/about(pigeons)-,sincerely james waller

All part of this forum and the diversity of threads, James. And, PIGEONS are involved...

Circle of life...

Love and Hugs

Shi

[conditionfreak]

The number one rule of nature is "survival of the fit". (adaptability). Humans try and sometimes succeed in thwarting this rule of nature. We usually do it because we believe it is the humane or right thing to do. But how do we choose when, what and how?

Man has influence, but can not (we have tried over and over) best nature. As has been said by someone else earlier in this thread, everything comes to an end. It just comes down to when, where, why and how.

Sometimes it is better to let nature control itself, than for man to take the wheel. Species come and go. It is the way of earth. Sometimes it is a good thing that a species "goes" (maybe man made killer bees, or the Black Widow spider). Can you imagine if North America had T-Rex roaming the Midwest states?

Often you see documentaries on TV about a camera man following a motherless baby elephant or baby rhino, which is starving, around for weeks, until it dies of starvation or is killed by predators. I often watch and wonder why the camera man and his crew do not help the poor thing.

Their explanation is that because it is nature, it is the unwritten law of naturalist and those involved in this type of work that humans should not get involved if humans did not have a hand in what caused the problem in the first place. (ie: if poachers killed the mother elephant, then it would be alright and actually incumbent upon humans to help the baby. But if lions or disease killed the mother elephant, then humans should not get involved in saving the baby.)

I understand this "unwritten law" and guess it is probably a decent way of dealing with these types of situations. Although I can not "do nothing" myself, when a needing living thing comes before me. I know that most who frequent this web site feel the same way.

It is a quandry for sure. A personal decision each and every time.

Would you save a feral pigeon from the clutches of a Cooper's Hawk, if they were struggling in the grass, in a park, as you just happened to be walking by? Would you save a kitten being attacked by a Red Tail Hawk in a similar situation? Would you use a live minnow in an attempt to catch a bigger fish for sport or food? Would you save a grasshopper that was in the clutches of a Praying Mantis in your garden?

Hawks and Praying Mantis need to eat also.

Don't even get me started on Bull Fighting, Hunting and Trapping!

I don't know the answer to these types of questions, but I know what I can live with within myself. My own little world.

One of my personal interests is the "Thylacine" ( also known as the Tasmanian Tiger), which is allegedly extinct. Below is a link to a video of them while still alive. Fantastic creature. Some anecdotal evidence suggests that there may be some still around, but most likely not. When it went extinct, the earth did not change. Nature did not go topsy turvy. The circle of life was not greatly interupted. What happened is we simply feel bad about it. But life and earth goes on. With or without Tasmanian Tigers and mankind.

P.S. You will like this animal in the video. Facinating. "Possibly" still in existence (let's hope).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vqCCI1ZF7o

[SmithFamilyLoft]

Originally Posted by conditionfreak

......Species come and go. It is the way of earth. Sometimes it is a good thing that a species "goes" (maybe man made killer bees, or the Black Widow spider).....

Actually the human has gone to great lengths to try to destroy certain species....right now, we are trying to kill off the little bug known as "Swine Flu", as well as countless little critters which try to live within us, and on or in our dogs and cats, and many of the animals we find "favor" with, as well as countless little things which go bump in the dead of the night. I don't know why we shed a tear over one, and not the other. I guess it is human nature to want to feel in control of our universe. Some peoplle would use the less aceptable, and not politically correct term of "Play God". And that is why there are such political and religious overtones in all of this. It is a desire to feel some kind of meaning. Long after I am dead and gone, and my remains have turned to dust, I believe Mother Nature will win out, and we as a specie will face the same fate, like all the millions of species before us. It's debatable if as a specie, we can prolong that process, and none of us reading these pages will ever know the end result.

[conditionfreak]

Yep. Manure has just as important a function in nature, as does the horse.

It is not inconceivable that someday, there will be a group of people taking measures to "save the fleas and ticks".

Even ugly babies have someone who loves them. (I know I did)

Oh, by the way. I do know how it turns out. I and everyone else, and every living thing, dies. Every species is doomed to become extinct. "Forever" is a really, really, REALLY long time.