There is an interesting TV show on Animal Planet these days, Extinct or Alive. It follows an enthusiastic fellow, Forrest Galante, who searches for animals that have been declared extinct, seeing if he can find even one remaining living member of the species. He sometimes then removes the one remaining animal he finds to attempt to breed it with another of its kind (as he did with the Fernandina tortoise he found still alive in the Galapagos). I have mixed feelings about this. This might possibly work in that hopefully then the offspring could eventually be reintroduced into the wild...IF...the pair are able to be bred in captivity. Often this is problematic. I'm happy he is finding creatures that were previously thought extinct...yet it worries me that meddling will destroy their desperate chances of long term survival. At least the show highlights the sad fact that we are destroying earth's animals and their habitat at an alarming rate. We need to each do what we can in our sphere of influence to teach others to treasure every single creature and the incredible diversity and beauty of our planet - before it is too late.
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