THE SIXTH GREAT EXTINCTION.

We are in the midst of the sixth great extinction on ear. The sumatran tiger went extinct this year. It is 2015 and we are losing large predator animals. Extinctions of birds, insects, amphibians and smaller mammals almost go unnoticed among the thousands of species we've lost.

This is lonesome George. A pinto Island tortoise that went extinct in the mid 1800s. George was discovered in 1971, the last of the breed. He lived until 2012, the only one of his kind.
 
A quaga. The face of a giraffe, the stripes of a zebra and the hind quarters of a horse.
 
Another giant tortoise, the seychelles. Their biggest fault is they taste good and were easy to catch.

A thylacine. I would have liked to have seen one of these in a zoo. A ferocious predator you wouldn't want to meet in the wild.
 
A barbary lion, with a unique looking tufted mane.
 
An Asian tarpan, a small wild horse that stood only 5 feet tall.
We've lost forever two amazing tigers, the caspian, the largest tiger ever seen and the smallest, the Bali tiger, no bigger than an average dog.

The beauty of the golden toad lead to its extinction in 1989.

The black rhino gone-2011. We know that the Chinese superstition that powdered rhino horn is an aphrodisiac is what is responsible for the wholesale killing of rhinos, like elephants for their ivory. Elephant losses are frightening. Will they be next?  Only in zoos?
Or will it be the polar bear?

With climate change, acidic oceans and rain, many fish and ocean animals endangered. Will various populations of humans go extinct for lack of food? I think that is a fair question.

A man... I'm remembering his name as Wilson, conceived the idea that we should return half the world in every country to its original wild condition. We've certainly made great strides in rehabilitating some of our most egregious mistakes, like the buffalo, grizzly bear, wolves, eagles. Wouldn't that be neat? 

LOOKING FORWARD TO MOVING ON.

I finally got the ambition to vacuum up all that dust I wrote about yesterday without too much discomfort.  And, yesterday we were visited by a special investigator with the National Parks, sort of the FBI of the national parks.  We gave another taped account of the accident.  It  makes you wish they’d just share information. She said she would ask the Sheriff’s Department for a copy of their tape. I woke up with sand in the corner of my eyes, as I have every morning since the accident. I  thought about what I saw going down that hill and I realized for the first time that I had to have closed my eyes until the tumble and rumble stopped.  Significant of nothing.
I got a message from Vicky and Jeff that Sophie Zagar is in a rehabilitation center in Prescott where she will undergo extensive rehabilitation.  She was obviously in the most pain during those long  hours and it was so hard for everyone, because there was nothing we could do.  Sophie, you have no idea how glad we are to  know that you are  getting the care you need  and have your  loving  family around you.
Despite the heat, we had a nice breeze yesterday, and after dinner, we took a slow stroll around the park. It felt good to get out and walk and feel normal.  We met a full-time RVer named Pauline. She said she was so bereft when her only child moved with her grandchildren to New Zealand, she decided to hit the road. That was five years ago.  She joined the singles group, the LOWs, which stands for Loners On Wheels.  She now knows some of the same characters that Jim does with his nearly 17 years on the road. He belonged to the WINs, Wandering Individuals Network, and the two groups often meet and interact.  I’m admiring of women who have it together enough to be adventurers on their own and tackle life constantly on the move. It is an addicting lifestyle.
Our plan is to leave the park on Tuesday morning. We still have all those mundane chores.  Monday laundromat and shopping. Some mail to get out. And today, I’m going to finish our visit to the South Rim so I  leave this park with a positive and beauty in my  memory.  Jim is also ready to do that, though he declined yesterday.  We still both nap every day.
I keep a picture file of the last two year’s adventures on my computer. That way I can always look back at the fun times we had and feel joy.

Lunch at the Elephant Bar Palm Desert, California.

Netting Salmon on the Swinnomish  Reservation,  La Connor, Washington.

Hiking the Superstition Mountains,  Apache Junction,  Arizona.

Watching the Cabalgata in Columbus,  New Mexico.

The balloon ride with Fergie and company at Red Rock Park,  New Mexico.

Meeting the tattooed artist in Bisbee, Arizona.
Life is good.