Mankind keeps driving birds, fish and animals into extinction…

Genesis 1:26 “26 Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, in the likeness of ourselves; and let them rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the earth’.” (CJB)

My hubby and I have, for many years now, been watching nature shows and documentaries about wildlife. It is beyond amazing to see YHWH’s incredible creation in action, and discover how every single one of them was apparently created for a specific purpose.

Unfortunately, humans have been less than stellar stewards of the animals, birds, and fish which YHWH gave mankind to care for (Genesis 1:18) – causing some to become completely extinct, either by “sport” hunting, or simply because they were somehow “in the way.”

For instance, the gray wolf, once numbering in the tens of thousands throughout North America, faced public vilification and extermination programs that drove it to near extinction in the US. 

These poor animals were systematically exterminated by controversial, US government-backed programs in the 19th and 20th centuries - primarily due to wolves’ attacks on the cattle, which were central to a booming industry vital to expanding the west’s economy. By 1940, wolves were almost completely gone, and their eradication literally threw the ecology of the Rocky Mountains into disarray, with elk and deer excessively grazing in open lands where they otherwise would have been targets for wolves … which created a domino effect that harmed a variety of species.
 
Today, despite much outrage by cattle ranchers, the inclusion of wolves to the 1973 Endangered Species Act, along with a 1995 effort to build a home for them in Yellowstone national park, has helped bring their numbers back up to acceptable levels in lower 48 states and served to normalize the ecosystem.

Another example of mankind’s amazing arrogance, thoughtlessness and outright stupidity is the near extinction of beavers, which were once killed by the thousands for their pelts, and considered to be environmental pests - because they were created to build dams which the humans saw as an intrusion.

According to the PBS documentary, Leave it to Beavers, FINALLY scientists, conservationists and grass-roots environmentalists have come to regard beavers as "overlooked tools" when it comes to reversing the disastrous effects of global warming and world-wide water shortages.

“Once valued for their fur or hunted as pests, these industrious rodents are seen in a new light through the eyes of this novel assembly of beaver enthusiasts and ‘employers’ who have recognized the ways in which the presence of beavers can transform and revive landscapes.

“Using their skills as natural builders and brilliant hydro-engineers, beavers are being recruited to accomplish everything from finding water in a bone-dry desert to recharging water tables and coaxing life back into damaged lands.”

Well, imagine that! Animals are smarter than man when it comes to preserving Planet Earth….

These were just a couple of examples of the damage men have done to YHWH's animal kingdom. It’s disheartening realize that mankind – who was commanded by God to have dominion over the animals and to take care of them – have failed so miserably!

While I’m at it, I also highly recommend a wonderful PBS documentary entitled, Parrot Confidential, which discusses the horrific damage and cruelty mankind has perpetrated on the exotic birds. The narrative reads:

Their outrageous intelligence and uncanny ability to communicate in any language has made parrots one of the world's most popular pets. But unlike dogs and cats, parrots have not been domesticated. Hardwired for the wild, their high decibel squawks and complex behavior are designed for the wild. Add a lifespan of up to 70+ years with their intense need to bond, and a life in captivity doesn't always have a happy ending.

Most of the time their life in captivity does NOT have a happy ending, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s way past time for the governments of the world to make the capture, selling and owning of exotic animals a CRIME punishable by imprisonment and/or hefty fines!  It’s high time for MANKIND to take responsibility for his actions, for mankind is solely responsible for the ever-worsening problems of EVERY KIND on Planet earth!

Proverbs 12:10 Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
 
Proverbs 27:23 Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds...
 
I'll leave you with just a VERY SMALL listing of some of the animals and birds already driven into extinction, or are near extinction at the hands of humans:

•    Passenger pigeon
•    Dodo
•    Western black rhinoceros
•    Pyrenean ibex
•    Quagga
•    Tasmanian tiger
•    The Poʻouli from Hawaii was declared extinct in 2018.
•    The Spix's Macaw
•    Eastern Puma - victims of deforestation.
•    In Sudan the last male northern white rhino died in March 2018.
•    Steller's sea cow. (According to a recent study in Science, 15 animals are known to have vanished forever from the oceans while terrestrial ecosystems have seen 514 extinctions. Steller's sea cow was literally eaten to extinction by humans.)

Top 10 animals in danger of extinction right now:

•    Javan rhinoceros
•    Cheetah
•    Tiger
•    Leopards
•    Jaguars
•    Red tuna
•    Asian elephant
•    Vaquita porpoise
•    Mountain gorilla
•    Irrawaddy river dolphin
•    Pangolins
•    Elephants. (1 elephant is poached every 15 minutes.)
•    Rhinos. (All five rhino species are now threatened.)
•    Lions. (The kings of the jungle could be extinct in the wild by 2050.)
•    Tigers. (Only 3,200 remain in the wild.)

SHAME ON MANKIND!