It is all too easy to forget the almost mystical animals of yesterday that have disappeared without a trace. There is no second chance when we completely obliterate a species. Unless there is a viable population hiding somewhere safely out of reach of the grasping hands of man, the ability to resuscitate the extinct remains the fancy of science fiction.
Extinction is normally associated with the dinosaurs; creatures far removed from our daily lives, eliminated by a freak of nature long before man existed. It is a rather detached concept, often a larger concern to conservationists than the average global citizen who himself is struggling for survival. To most of us, it’s hard to fathom that we could really wipe out entire species – we are pretty sure there are plenty more out there where they come from.
Today too many animals stand at the cliff of oblivion, precariously balancing in a delicate dance of existence. Some of these beings are not even known to us; barely documented in science and hardly registering in the consciousness of the average man. Yet as a result of a plethora of reasons almost invariably linked to man, we could lose them all.
