It Never Hurts to Help

[toledo_jesus]

OR DOES IT????


[quote][b] Last Male Purebred Rabbit Species Dies 1 hour, 38 minutes ago
[/b]


EPHRATA, Wash. - The last male purebred Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit has died, leaving just two females in a captive breeding program created to try to save the endangered species from extinction.

The tiny rabbits are only found in Douglas County in north-central Washington. None are believed to exist in the wild, which means the two females — Lolo and Bryn — are the only known purebred pygmy rabbits left in existence.

"This is a population that has existed since before the last Ice Age in Eastern Washington. The loss is something we can never calculate," said Jon Marvel, executive director of the Idaho-based Western Watersheds Project, which works to protect pygmy rabbit populations across the West. "Any time we lose a species it diminishes us all."

Biologists captured 16 rabbits in a remote area of Douglas County in 2001 to start the captive breeding program. The last of those rabbits, Ely, died March 30 at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, said Dave Hays, an endangered species biologist who oversees the program for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The last two Columbia Basin rabbits, both offspring of the original captured rabbits, are at the Portland zoo.

The fate of the isolated species now rests entirely in a crossbreeding program with the closely related Idaho pygmy rabbit. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has already determined that the crossbred rabbits will count toward recovery of the Columbia Basin species.

"The whole reason for the inner-crossing was to make sure we kept that genetic line going," said Chris Warren, a biologist overseeing the pygmy rabbit recovery effort for the federal agency. "Right now, we want at least 75 percent Columbia Basin ancestry in those animals."

The breeding program, conducted at the Oregon Zoo, Washington State University and Northwest Trek east of Olympia, now has 88 Idaho and mixed Idaho-Washington rabbits. There are 13 females in the breeding program with genes at least 75 percent Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit, Hays said.

Efforts to impregnate the two purebred Washington rabbits have been unsuccessful so far, he said.

Next month, biologists should know how many females are pregnant and how many crossbred babies will be born this year. Some of the rabbits will be released into Douglas County, perhaps as early as October, Hays said.

Biologists plan to build artificial burrows in shrub-steppe habitat within the next month in preparation for the release, said Beau Patterson, a state biologist in Wenatchee.[/quote]


I'm of the opinion that if we just let nature work and stop trying to impose our will on it then things will work out. That species has been marginalized for quite a long time, and wow, the ecosystem survived. Freaking HIPPIES! And they try and try to make it better, but they just don't get it...species die out, it happens. It's not a tragedy, it's NATURE...it's like a pet dying I suppose. Only these twisted peaceniks think they can have a Frankenweenie.

[Colleen]

Everything has to die eventually.

Oh, and Eek the Cat was a good show. Especially the Terrible Thunderlizards.

[afdchick]

Yeah, I agree....they need to just let nature take it's course. You know alot of these people who try and save animals and trees, etc. don't believe in God, so they need another outlet. And they turn to this kind of carp. Thaey will find out someday, *sigh*

[Sojourner]

[quote name='toledo_jesus' post='984018' date='May 17 2006, 08:12 PM']
OR DOES IT????
I'm of the opinion that if we just let nature work and stop trying to impose our will on it then things will work out. That species has been marginalized for quite a long time, and wow, the ecosystem survived. Freaking HIPPIES! And they try and try to make it better, but they just don't get it...species die out, it happens. It's not a tragedy, it's NATURE...it's like a pet dying I suppose. Only these twisted peaceniks think they can have a Frankenweenie.
[/quote]
Well, why are the animals endangered in the first place? Often species become endangered because of human developments. Trying to mitigate some of the damage others' decisions have made isn't a bad thing ... and I don't think it's hippie-ish. It's part of being a steward of the creation with which we have been entrusted.

[AngelofJesus]

[quote] [i]Gen 1:26[/i].And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness: and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth. [/quote]

Dominion entails that we have responsibility towards them. If they were dying off because of our environmental carelessness then I would think we have a responsibility to try and save them. Natural order of selection or survival of the fittest only applies when the cause is just that, natural.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='AngelofJesus' post='984524' date='May 18 2006, 12:25 PM']
Dominion entails that we have responsibility towards them. If they were dying off because of our environmental carelessness then I would think we have a responsibility to try and save them. Natural order of selection or survival of the fittest only applies when the cause is just that, natural.
[/quote]
Exactly.

[afdchick]

I think I'd rather worry more about our own species, it's in way more danger than any animal...with abortion and all. Really, what's one less rabbit....I think there are plenty of other types to take it's place. Now, if cows or chickens were endangered....then I'd worry!!! This girl's gotta eat!

[toledo_jesus]

[quote name='Sojourner' post='984523' date='May 18 2006, 12:25 PM']
Well, why are the animals endangered in the first place? Often species become endangered because of human developments. Trying to mitigate some of the damage others' decisions have made isn't a bad thing ... and I don't think it's hippie-ish. It's part of being a steward of the creation with which we have been entrusted.
[/quote]
but don't you think that trying to micromanage the species itself is the wrong direction? Wouldn't it be more productive to simply cease the harmful actions? My problem isn't trying to conserve the species so much as it is stuff like this rabbit thing. We've proven time and again that we're unable to effectively manage the forces of nature...dead rabbits as proof.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='afdchick' post='984549' date='May 18 2006, 01:47 PM']
I think I'd rather worry more about our own species, it's in way more danger than any animal...with abortion and all. Really, what's one less rabbit....I think there are plenty of other types to take it's place. Now, if cows or chickens were endangered....then I'd worry!!! This girl's gotta eat!
[/quote]
Our responsibilities to care for the world we live in are not negated by the sinful acts of others. Just because abortion exists doesn't mean that I am to abandon every other responsibility in order to attack that one, horrible though it is. One thing I've learned as I've gotten older is that God gifts us each in different ways to fulfill different needs. I've come to understand that respecting the passions of others and supporting them in the best way I can is part of being a member of the Body. As 1 Cor. 12 says:

[quote]14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

[b]21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,[/b] 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.[/quote]

I think this is an apt analogy for the question you pose. While human life of course takes precedence, we can't all be on the front lines of the fight against abortion 24/7 -- although we CAN all support those who ARE on the front lines in various ways. God has given us each talents and skills that we're expected to develop and use. Supporting someone who has a passion for protecting the environment is good, just as it's good to support someone who has a passion for protecting the unborn. We all play a part, and God gives us our individual talents and passions for a reason. Saying, "Caring about rabbits isn't important" denigrates the vocation of these individuals, the God-given talents and skills each of them possess.

[quote name='toledo_jesus' post='984598' date='May 18 2006, 02:58 PM']
but don't you think that trying to micromanage the species itself is the wrong direction? Wouldn't it be more productive to simply cease the harmful actions? My problem isn't trying to conserve the species so much as it is stuff like this rabbit thing. We've proven time and again that we're unable to effectively manage the forces of nature...dead rabbits as proof.
[/quote]
Perhaps it is in the wrong direction ... it doesn't seem to have been too effective in this case. Captive breeding programs rarely work all that well, from what I've read and seen.

But, given the widespread resistance to ceasing harmful actions "for the sake of the environment" I'd guess that these folks are doing the best they can in a difficult situation. We as a people aren't known for being sensitive to the ecological impact we have, particularly when there's money to be made.

Edited to say:
[url="http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/pygmy_rabbit/"]This Web site gives a little more information about the situation.[/url]
[quote]The pygmy rabbit was state listed as a threatened species in Washington in 1990 because of declines in population size and distribution due to habitat loss. It was reclassified to endangered status in 1993. In March 2003, the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit was federally listed as an endangered species.

Causes of the sudden declines in the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit population are largely unknown. Two of the populations were affected by fire. Other potential factors that may be responsible for the declines include effects of small population size (e.g. inbreeding), habitat degradation, disease, and predation. [/quote]
Later on, it talks about how the breeding program has actually been somewhat successful in terms of increasing genetic diversity and reproduction, just not of the purebred Columbia Basin pygmies.

[Theoketos]

I have to respectfully disagree with your premise. Man is the steward of Creation, thus it is our job to till and guard the garden, meaning we should try to repair damage we caused.

[Franimus]

They're just displaying their love for God's creation. Personally, i'm not into that stuff, but I don't mind that they're doing that. A thought just struck me; these people are practically historians. If we say that they shouldn't be trying to preserve these endangered species, we're implying that historians are of even less value, since historians preserve ideas, but breeders preserve life. Maybe I'm wrong; I've only thought about those last two sentances for the last five seconds. I just don't like the PETA freaks (as in, the PETA people who are freaks, not that all of PETA are freaks) who don't want us to kill cockroaches, ants, and mice we find in our basements.

[toledo_jesus]

[quote name='Theoketos' post='984691' date='May 18 2006, 04:38 PM']
I have to respectfully disagree with your premise. Man is the steward of Creation, thus it is our job to till and guard the garden, meaning we should try to repair damage we caused.
[/quote]
my point is that we simply don't have the tools to actually reverse the damage we do...we couldn't really save the rabbits, it was silly to think so. I mean, yeah if there are a couple hundred out there, then they have a chance if we look out for them. But captive breeding to save this one species failed spectacularly and in my eyes, humorously. It's like, hubris to think we could actually do something like that.