I was also trying to illustrate the point on how some people may consider
some species on the verge of extinction now a disaster. Sure we are
probably better off not being carnosaur food or stuck to the bottom of a
sauropods foot. Seriously though, I do believe some of the creatures near
extinction now are just going there way. Don't misconstrue this as a cop
out. But to play devils advocate with myself, its possible some of these
species have not had a chance yet to become common. I will ( probably to my
own peril) use the white lined topminnow. Could it be it was not adapting
and its range had shrunk down to the point that the man made changes to its
habitat caused its final demise? Or was it just getting started, and
waiting for some big flood that would never happen since dams and
channelization have stopped most of this, to spread itself further
throughout that area? What I am really getting at, as with my dino example,
how do we really know about some of these things. And why is it that its
only the things man does that are wrong? Rather than dwell on whats already
wrong, I would rather see some constructive Ideas on how to change these
things. It seems clear to me that most already have it set what the problem
is, so no need to rehash that. I think it would be best to try all options
to help these species. This not only includes habitat preservation, but also
making these things ( even slimes) more important to more people. That is
why I believe in captive husbandry and making these fish more appealling to
more people. Like duck hunting helps ducks ( and other wetland area
species), and pictures and videos help people care about the beauty of lands
far away. Would anyone really care of the rain forest didnt have that fancy
name, and still was called a jungle? Kind of like how swamps are now called
wet lands. Swamp has a negative sound, muddy mire filled with stinging
insects, wetland conjers up visions of frog and bird songs ringed in
cattails.
Ray
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