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I have a burning need to know stuff and I love asking awkward questions.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

A Despicable Species

No, not the majestic creature pictured above but the species that is pushing it to extinction. That would be us. Humans. Apparently there are now an estimated 1500 Indian Tigers in the wild. Some people are already speculating that this is too few to ensure that the species is viable. Others point to the resilience of Tiger populations in the past. What can’t be argued with is the fact that it is our greed for land and Tiger ‘products’ that is threatening to add these big cats to the growing list of creatures that we have eliminated from the Earths biosphere. How many bricks do we have to carelessly remove from the wall before whole eco-systems collapse? How long before we realise that we are not immune from the effects of the increasingly obvious species degradation? How long before we realise that we’re just another species that can become extinct too? Maybe we’re just too stupid a species to survive? At least those left behind will heave a huge sigh of relief when we go – if we leave anything behind us that is.

6 comments:

wstachour said...

Hear, hear. Advanced intelligence as a survival strategy is far from proven. (And maybe it's not even so advanced; I still hear a lot of grumbling about global warming as a "liberal plot.")

OldLady Of The Hills said...

BRAVO, BRAVO, BRAVO!!! Oh My, you are so right about everything you say...Personally, I believe if we keep going the way we are right now? We WILL "Extinct" ourselves....It's on the way to that as I write this to you....!
I am so depressed about the way our country has opted out of 'humanity' that I could cry till there are no tears left.
HELP! Something must change, and soon.

That is such a beautiful picture, dear CK....What a dear face that Tiger has...

Laughing Boy said...

I don't think the problem is that our species is stupid, but that we are, by and large, short-sighted and concerned mainly with our own comfort and pleasure regardless of the cost.

Karlo said...

Okay....short-sighted, shallow, delusional, but not stupid.

CyberKitten said...

laughing boy said: I don't think the problem is that our species is stupid, but that we are, by and large, short-sighted and concerned mainly with our own comfort and pleasure regardless of the cost.

To me that's pretty stupid.

karlo said: Okay....short-sighted, shallow, delusional, but not stupid.

Again a pretty good stab at the meaning of stupidity.

Laughing Boy said...

Selectively stupid. If the endangered species were smarter than us the shoe would be on the other foot.