Very Sadly Inspired By Our Horrendous History,
And By What I See Happening All Around America Today;
Even Sadder, On Protecting Endangered Wildlife In Our Nation,
Not One Of Our So Called ‘Leaders’ Have Anything At All To Say
“As I traveled on, the air was literally filled with pigeons.”
Naturalist John James Audubon, 1813
Photo: An American Pigeon Hunting Expedition, 1891
Music: Nature’s Lament
Many people say it’s just a ‘natural cycle’
We are not to blame, for animals vanishing
But how can we claim that, when we kill them
‘Unnatural Extinction,’ to many animals we bring
There once were billions of Passenger Pigeons in America
We shot them down by the hundreds, as a national pastime
The very last one in our entire nation, died in a zoo, long ago
This is not a ‘natural cycle,’ but one of our anti-wildlife crimes
There once were hundreds of Jaguars, roaming our vast Southwest
The very last one was trapped and killed in Arizona several years ago
Today, there are less than 50 Lobos still left, in our southwestern states
And both government officials and numerous ranchers say they have to go
Down in Florida only about 100 panthers remain, once there were thousands
Once, they roamed the southeastern section of our nation, in numerous states
Every day, these remaining 100 panthers lose more and more natural habitat
And once we bulldoze over these remaining few, extinction will be their fate
In the woods of Minnesota, Moose are experiencing a dreadful decline
Some blame climate change for their deaths, others blame nasty parasites
Yet, despite their drastic reduction, annual Moose Hunts merrily continue
Government officials refuse to stop them, to every Moose Hunter’s delight
Today, off our western coastline, we are killing our once protected sea lions
Because they have the audacity of continuing to dine on our vanishing salmon
Despite all the dire warnings from marine biologists, we have over-fished salmon
Yet when the last sea lion is caught and killed, many will say ‘you can’t blame man’
And today, we have unleashed anyone with a gun, to shoot down wolves in the Rockies
Because they dine on our elk, which are now also in decline, from lack of food and water
I see little that is ‘natural’ about the disappearance of our once plentiful, god-given animals
Humanity, in our greed arrogance and selfishness, sends all these creatures to their slaughter
America’s now extinct Passenger Pigeons were once unique in all the world not only because of their vast numbers, but also because of the manner in which they roosted, nested, flocked, and migrated. The great American Naturalist John James Audubon wrote this account of the passing of a flock of what he later estimated to be more than 1 billion Passenger Pigeons in the Fall of 1813:
“As I traveled on, the air was literally filled with pigeons. The light of noon-day was obscured as by an eclipse, and the continued buzz of wings had a tendency to lull my senses. Before sunset I reached Louisville, Kentucky. The pigeons passed in undiminished numbers, and continued to do so for three whole days in succession.
“The people here were all armed, and the banks of the Ohio were crowded with men and boys, incessantly shooting at these pigeons, which flew lower as they passed over the river. Multitudes were thus destroyed. For a week or more, the population here fed on no flesh other than that of pigeons, and they talked of nothing but killing pigeons.”
Today, Many Blog and Brag About Killing Wolfs and Sea Lions That Eat ‘Our Fish’
Nothing ‘Natural’ About Our Extinction Efforts, and Our Nature Ending Death Wish
©September 2012, Mr. Ed
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An enlightening piece to comprehend such loss of wildlife.
Thank you Mr. Ed.
Lady Mary Ann
Anna
m
Ron
is just not on..what's there to be
proud of - the small picture?
what's to be gained?
keep challenging us, Ed
john
Lady Vivian
Deborah