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In an issue of OnEarth (the magazine of the Natural Resources Defense Council) an article appeared that resonated deeply with me. Written by Anthony Doerr, it's titled "Phantoms and Prey," and it begins like this:

"It's the middle of the night in central Idaho. Twenty miles from my house, hunters wait on wolves for the first time in decades.

My two little sons sleep upstairs...outside, in the moonlight, the driveway pines seem tenuous, unrooted, as if they might start striding quietly past one another, swapping places in the night."

The author goes on to ponder the billions of individual creatures we've obliterated in our quest to either rid a space of its animal inhabitants, or to use them for our own selfish pleasures. And at the end, he speculates about the passenger pigeon - a species hunted to extinction:

"I think of my sons asleep upstairs. I think of that passenger pigeon, leaching his last colors into a wooden drawer. I think of the hunters, two valleys away, drowsing beside their guns, waiting for the howl."

My perpetual wish is for all of us is to develop a sense of the finite gifts of nature, and to obtain the realization that once something is lost forever, there's no going back. If we could all - collectively - accomplish that task, the world would be a much richer, beautiful place.

As I always do, I invite you to check out the Articles Index to find what interests you, or catch up on what you've missed. You can also take a look at our Noteworthy News page to read updates on what's happening in the Animal Kingdom around the world, or read about Endangered Species that need our help.