Ode to the Extinct

Last week the USFWS released the list of 22 extinct US species and for a minute it was all everyone talked about. The ivory billed woodpecker was on the list having worked its way through the laborious US system of classifying a species as extinct after last being seen and filmed in 1935. Here is link to a video of what it looked like. 

In total 23 species were on that list. It included 11 birds, eight freshwater mussels, two fish, a bat and a plant. Yes, plants go extinct too. Here is the official list.

It takes a long time because it is hard to prove a negative. This wasn't the case for the Northern white rhino, extinct in 2018 with the death of the last male- Sudan. This is the inspiration behind the artwork for this week's podcast. The art was done by the amazing Kry Hookuh and I am lucky she is able to create such magnificent pieces for the podcast. You can follow her on Instagram @kryshookuh and you can check out her website at: https://www.kryshookuhdoodles.com

A United Nations report estimates that over 1 million species, that's basically all the described species, are at risk for extinction in the next few decades. Humanity is failing. When you ask people if they like animals a lot of people say oooh I love animals. Heck most of the students in my classes say how much they love animals. However, much like our famous love of dogs, when we look at how we act I don’t think we love animals very much at all. It is the ultimate abusive relationship and we are the abusers. A common theme in abusive relationships is that while the abuser is being abusive they keep asserting how much they love you. That's our real relationship with other animals. We can change it though. We created it and we can undo it.

Do something to better the lives of other species. That's the message of this week's episode.

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