Extinction

I recently saw a piece on television about the Great White Shark. What I know about sharks is from the movies Jaws and Blue Water White Death, or Shark Week on Discover. Interviewed in this piece was an earnest-sounding scientist who opined that the Great White Shark was, “as close as you can get,” to being an endangered species.

Well, this information sent me skittering to Wikipedia to do a little research on Superorder Selachimorpha. I knew sharks have been around for a long time, but I was surprised to find that, in one form or another, they’ve been swimming in our oceans for 420 million years! Just to put that in perspective, dinosaurs started showing up about 120 million years ago and were extinct by 60 million years ago. Meanwhile, several varieties of shark are still at the very top of the food chain.

But this isn’t about dinosaurs, or even sharks; it’s about extinction.

If you want to stir up an otherwise dull discussion, try bringing up the subject of endangered species. Everyone has an opinion about snail darters, spotted owls, California Condors, cheetahs, wolves or elephants. It’s become fashionable to contribute to the various wildlife funds devoted to saving a species, to do our bit to prevent species extinction.

So far, the results have been mixed. Some species, like mountain gorillas, are barely hanging on. Others have made a robust comeback, like the grey wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone, although ranchers in the area are not particularly pleased about the wolves’ taste for calves and lambs. But such projects are seen by many as the responsible thing to do. We are, after all, the caretakers of the planet.

It seems to me we’re missing something here. Extinction is a normal function of nature. Nearly every species that has appeared on Earth since the first cell was imbued with what we call “life” is extinct. From that first cell to T-Rex, to passenger pigeons and the dodo; all extinct. Truth be told, one day, a thousand, a million, or a billion years from now, we will ourselves be extinct. There is no doubt about it, except in the timing.

The extinctions to date have come about in different ways and for different reasons. Some have been as a result of asteroid collisions, some as a result of climate change, and some simply because some other species found the now-extinct species tasty.

But man is trying to change the rules and prevent further extinctions. Why? Because in all these millions of years, man is the first species to have a conscience, to feel guilt. Each time the bell of extinction rings, another angel loses his wings. (Not so much with plants and bugs, though. Interesting.) But our guilt is leading us in the wrong direction. As so perfectly put by a now-extinct television commercial: It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature. No matter how well-intentioned, messing around with the balance of nature is an unforgiving lesson in the law of unintended consequences. (Watch for upcoming rant on kudzu.)

Better, I think, to cherish and enjoy the many works of nature as they exist, and preserve — electronically and artistically— the memory of those that slide into extinction.