It's a terrible thing when a species dies out, however the adaptability of species is what makes them hardier and able to survive when we as a race attempt to control this fact of nature we fail to realize that sometimes we could be doing more harm than good. Human action may have led to the extinction of this species of tortoise, but as the saying goes Nature Abhors a Vaccum. A new species may yet rise to take their place, a much hardier and more capable species. There are millions of different species that have died out, but still millions more that survive and indeed thrive every day. We may feel upset that these animals are dieing out, I don't mean to sound cold about this or not, but the animals sure don't. They don't feel upset that they lost a competitor for resources, they only care about one thing. The fight for continued survival. We look at how our actions of the past are endangering and destroying species left, right and center. You know what I see when I see that list of endagered species and extinct species. I see a list of creatures that were or are not fully capable of surviving the sudden dramatic change in climate and I begin to wonder if this is how it started for the Dinosaurs when extinction came to claim them. Smaller, less hardier species died out, while others came in to take their place. And eventually they all but vanished from the Earth, leaving naught but their bones behind. Yet is entirely possible and more than probable that not all species died out, many believe the theory that dinosaurs evolved into avian life forms and took wing. Perhaps they did. Evolution is all about change, in nature that change can be rather violent at times and may seem cruel. The human race is the only one with sentience, the only one to fight bitter wars, the only one to attempt to control and keep nature the way we remember it as being. Trying to fight the change of nature is like trying to roll a very large boulder up the steepest, tallest mountain in existence. It is a futile gesture. Our small efforts may pay off in the short run, but in the long haul it could drastically cause more harm than good. And I am now giving you a wall of text, my appologies. I just felt like putting some philosophical perspective on things. We may have lost an entire species of tortoise today. Let me tell you, the quote 'life finds a way' is highly appropriate. It is man's arrogance that believes nature is meant to remain as it was when we first started out as a race. And it is our arrogance, that in trying to prevent the ever changing mistress that is nature which could lead to our own extinction. Farewell George, may you know peace in whatever after life may exist out there for those of the wilds of nature.
Believe it or not... Right Click...Save I saw the news story elsewhere and was actually shocked to read the headline.
Good news after George!! Galapagos' new star tortoise does what Lonesome George didn't: Helps save his species - Yahoo! News
