Hi Don,

Thanks for taking the time to come back and put your two cents in. Much appreciated.

You are correct, this is a major discovery, and I'd be lying if I said there wasn't dancing in the biology building on the day the news came down, but the realization slowly sinks in that we have lost far more than we'll ever gain.

Example? About ten years ago, a pair of 'new' animals were found in Vietnam, the Vu Quang Ox and the Giant Muntjac (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis and Megamuntiacus vuquangensis, if ya feel like doing homework) --all to the same fanfare, aren't we humans SO lucky? The discovery makes the papers, big news on planet earth, we can all sleep a little better at night, right?

The fact that these animals were 'found' because Vietnam has roughly 10% of it's 1st growth rainforest left after Agent Orange and deforestation? I dunno about you, but I must have been out of the room when Dan Rather was talking about that on the news....And I completely missed the broadcast where 3 of the Vu Quang Ox were captured and taken to the Hanoi zoo....Or the broadcast 6 months later where all three of them were dead. They must have shown that on the big networks, right?? (the Hanoi zoo is another fight altogether---where else do you see placards on cages with the animal's name, habitat, and pharmaceutical useages? Maddening)

Like you, I will be thrilled when the Ivory Billed Woodpecker returns, or when Africa is a safe place for man or beast, but until then? Silliness is all well and good, up to a point, and is easily forgiven, but what you are left with after that is a very enlightening look at the human animal. It sort of reminds me of a kid cleaning out his room, ya know? "Oh wow, this was my favourite toy! I thought I'd lost it!" and a week later the mess is back the toy forgotten in favour of other silly diversions. The upsetting part here was that it took not a week, but one day for us to forget. For me, it's 'here we go again!'.

Like I said, Don, thanks for your time and care (for the record, I hear they taste like chicken...*bg*) and for what it's worth, walk a little softer today, who knows, you might get to liking it. *ebg*

~JE