Addressing Extinction
Extinction has always saddened me profoundly, and it is beyond dreams to contemplate being able to see a Carolina parakeet, a dodo or an Ivory-billed woodpecker (“Cloned Goat Would Revive Extinct Line,” Dec. 24). But then I think about Disneyland.
Every bit as integral to the animal as its form, fur or feathers is its behavior--which is dependent on its life in nature. A recreated animal living its life in a cage is not that different from a taxidermic display in a museum diorama.
Until we address habitat destruction, poaching and irresponsible human population numbers, cloning extinct species will remain a high-tech excuse for failing to confront the real issues, making the preservation and recapture of wildness ever more elusive.
CATHERINE RICH
Executive Officer
Urban Wildlands Group
Los Angeles
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