Friday last was quite the day for “extinct” critters—three of which came back from the dead.
Let’s start with the one closest to my home. Back in February the story broke (and spread like wildfire) that the white-tailed jack rabbit had disappeared.
Scientist: Rabbit Gone From Yellowstone was the original story and it started like this:
A jack rabbit found throughout much of the West has disappeared from the Yellowstone area although the reason why remains a mystery, a new study concludes.
Whatever the cause, the study suggests the white-tailed jack rabbit’s disappearance has wrought major changes to Yellowstone’s food chain. Coyotes and wolves, which could have depended on the rabbit as a significant food source, apparently turned their attention instead to larger prey including young elk, pronghorn antelope—even domestic livestock.
Well, folks, on Friday a small piece appeared in our local paper. Naturally, I couldn’t find it posted on the web. Funny how the original story was so widely covered but the following was pretty much ignored.
Mont. biologist takes back rabbit findings was the title of the new piece and it started like this:
A Montana biologist has withdrawn his claim in a recent study that a rabbit species has disappeared from the Yellowstone area.
Joel Berger, a senior scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, said Thursday that he has been contacted by at least six biologists and naturalists refuting his conclusions about the white-tailed jack rabbit. He said they provided photos and anecdotal evidence the rabbit still lives in the area.
The second story is entitled Research cam spots rare wolverine in Sierra and it starts like this:
Wolverines are big secretive weasels with bad attitudes, but that doesn’t stop some people from getting awfully excited about them.
In California, wildlife enthusiasts are buzzing because a Oregon State University graduate student’s remote-sensing camera appears to have photographed a wolverine, making it California’s first substantiated wolverine sighting since the 1920s.
There were actually a number of stories about this discovery. The one in our local paper started a bit differently.
A research project aimed at martens has turned up a bigger prize: a picture of a wolverine, an elusive animal scientists feared may have been driven out of the Sierra Nevada long ago by human activity.
The third was brought to my attention by a wire service under the title Elusive bird spotted near Papua New Guinea and it starts like this:
A bird species not seen for 80 years has been rediscovered near Papau New Guinea, experts said Friday. The Beck’s petrel, long thought to be extinct, was photographed last summer by an Israeli ornithologist in the Bismarck Archipelago, a group of islands northeast of New Guinea.
A lot of folks read these kind of stories and go ‘woowhooo’!
I, on the other hand, don’t see a reason to celebrate.
The primary thought that crosses my mind is how easily these people jump on the extinction/destruction bandwagon with every living thing on the planet. This animal is gone, that plant is gone and we’re to blame.
However, over the last decade there have been dozens of similar stories about critters that we supposedly drove from the planet that then miraculously reappeared.
The scientists have been wrong but that doesn’t stop the flow of research dollars and legislative nonsense designed to pen the rest of us in.
Yet another problem with this kind of thing is that they simply pass over the truth of their “new research”. Let’s face it, these clowns are never really wrong.
Take, for instance, this excerpt on the jack rabbit:
He said the study’s broader point—that the rabbit’s decline may have forced predators to turn to other food sources—remains valid.
Let me understand, the conclusions from the study were wrong but that doesn’t make them invalid!
Also, every one of these discoveries leads to calls for even more research and human restriction. As in this excerpt about the wolverine:
The discovery could affect land-use decisions if the wolverine is declared an endangered species, a step the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering, although the animals typically live at high elevations where there is limited development.
Finally, they find a way to take credit and applause regardless of the circumstances.
Again, from the wolverine story:
“This is an exciting research discovery, both for its scientific value, and as a demonstration of our success in forest management,” said Tahoe National Forest Supervisor Ton Quinn.
That’s a pretty nifty job they have.
Being right is not a requirment. Regardless of how much horsepucky they continue to shovel our way, we’ll just keep footing the bills, applauding their efforts and making laws that drag down our economy, destroy our society and erase our liberties.
Yup, Friday saw a triple play. The environmentalists are throwing a party…
