everyday I cry about extinct animals knowing it was people who did that. that there was only one left at any given time who was probably so lonely. that the last kauaioo called out for a mater that would never come. that the barbary lion walked a lonely path with no pride. that the heath hens were eaten into extinction. the ivory-billed woodpeckers lost their habitat and were shot for just wanting to make a home. that the carolina parakeet was hunted for sport and used to make hats. that the thylacine was only protected for two months before the last one died in a zoo. the western black rhino were poached mercilessly for their horns. the passenger pigeon who was once the most abundant bird to north america was over hunted and had no habitat left. the last pinta island tortoise was literally named Lonesome George. that the caribbean monk seal was hunted for it’s blubber, lost it’s food source due to overfishing, and lost most of it’s habitat due to pollution. that baiji got disrupted out of their own habitat because of water traffic disrupting everything in their lives. that the pyrenean ibex got over hunted and we cloned one because we couldn’t respect them to enough to just let them rest. that the bubal hartebeest was massacred by the herds. that the great auk was originally given the name of penguin. that the spix’s macaw was put in cages and traded as pets. that the kakapo is critically endangered due to habitat loss and new predators. that the quagga was hunted to extinction. that so many more bird species will never get to fly again. that pandas, polar bears, red pandas, pumas, tigers, are all close to being next. that there are only 10 vaquita left. only 100 leopards left. less than 80 javan rhinos left.
realizing that the dire wolf was brought back after 10,000 years, meaning we didn’t learn anything from jurassic park. that the coral reefs are dying. marine life are getting stuck in plastic. we want to “save” these beautiful animals but do nothing but want control over them. tearing apart their habitats and keeping them in captivity. animals thrived in 2020 when we were the ones locked up, if that isn’t telling enough.
I get sad for these animals everyday. but I get angry at my species for invading their homes and for pushing them out. they were here first. we are the invasive species. it’s never been about them, it’s always about us.