Saddest news of the day...and then there were 7

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Rare Northern White Rhino Dies of Old Age—and Then There Were 7...
By John Platt | Jun 7, 2011 11:00 AM | 1

All things to nothingness descend,
Grow old and die and meet their end...
Nor long shall any name resound
Beyond the grave, unless 't be found
In some clerk's book, it is the pen
Gives immortality to men

...and rhinos

The Norman poet Master Wace wrote those words (well, all but the last line) in the 12th century, and I have long taken his message to heart. It's a writer's job to tell the stories that won't otherwise be told, and in my case, that often involves telling stories about the many endangered species that are quickly and silently slipping away from us.

I first wrote about the northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) in 1989 for a college economics paper about the illegal ivory trade, an assignment that kick-started my lifelong interest in endangered species. At the time, there were maybe only a few dozen of these animals left, the rest having been slaughtered over the course of the 20th century for their valuable horns that many Asian people still—quite erroneously—believe can cure a variety of diseases as well as improve male virility.

Less than a decade later, by 1997, northern whites' population had dropped to 25 animals, all in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They had been wiped out in their ancestral habitats in Chad, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Zaire and Uganda. Even with that level of rarity, the slaughter continued. By 2007, the last four wild northern white rhinos had disappeared from their final refuge, undoubtedly the victims of poachers.

more
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=rare-northern-white-rhino-dies-of-o-2011-06-07

[Rhiannon12866]

1. K&R. So sad...

;(

[BlueIris]

2. Bye, bye, rhinos. nt

[Angry Dragon]

3. The stupidity and greed of man knows no bounds...........

[trotsky]

4. Alt-medders would still have us ask, "What's the harm?"

What IS the harm when people pursue nonsense treatments with not a lick of scientific evidence behind them?

THIS is the harm.

[Bonobo]

5. Adrian Belew - "Men in Helicopters" lyrics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frPFZwpUD_0

Wouldn’t it be great
To see the african plains
Before they lay them to waste
And only the bones remain
Wouldn’t it be poetry
To shoot holes in the poachers we see
With an elephant gun

Men in helicopters fly
Shooting rhinos from out of the sky
Why do we always assume
The planet is ours to ruin?
What a legacy we’re leaving behind
What a legacy

Wouldn’t it be something
For the men killing dolphin
To be caught up by their necks
In their greedy fishing nets
Wouldn’t it be irony
If the tuna fish canneries
Were to fall into the sea

The dolphins and the whales still left alive
Cry to the stars in the deep blue night
"there’s nowhere to hide,
The people on earth will not be denied"
What a legacy we’re leaving behind
What a legacy

Wouldn’t it be odd
If there really was a god
And he looked down on earth
And saw what we’ve done to her
Wouldn’t it be just
If he pulled the plug on us,
And took away the sun

[RKP5637]

6. Mankind will eventually go too, that I'm pretty sure of ... the earth will remain and

will cleanse itself of our crap.

[Poll_Blind]

7. The lady playing on his right in that video- is that his daughter from the "Oh Daddy" video?

I...when I was young I fell in love with that video and song. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the 80's. I thought it would be cool if that was her!

PB

[Bonobo]

8. Nope.

That is Eric Slick and his sister, bassist Julie Slick from the Paul Green School of Rock.

[progressoid]

9. I still have Lone Rhinoceros on vinyl.

Adrian and his Rhinos.

:thumbsup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X65Z6JEBUk&playnext=1&list=PL17B9999CC99CCBCB

I'm a lone rhinoceros
there ain't one hell of a lots of us
left in this world

I stand alone in my concrete cell
where people stare and toss me Coke cans
I guess it's better than being poached
but I'd give my horn just to see my homeland

I'm a lone rhinoceros
there ain't one hell of a lots of us
left in this world

They say I am ugly,
call me a beast
I hear them snicker
when I'm half asleep
Is beauty such a big commodity
I always heard it was only so deep

I'm a lone rhinoceros
there ain't one hell of a lots of us
left in this world

I know the zoos protect my species
they give me food, collect my feces
but I can't help it, I miss the past
I'll never again see my good old mudbath

[Bonobo]

10. I was thinking of posting that.

Adrian is a great guy that I have met several times. I even tried to hatch a plan to bring him on tour to Japan, but the numbers weren't there sadly...

[progressoid]

11. I would love to see him.

But I doubt he'll ever come to this armpit of America.

sigh

[Bonobo]

13. He's FROM the armpits of America.

You in the Quad cities? I went to UI and I remember many people referred to Bettendorf as that. LOL.

[progressoid]

14. Ha! - No, the other armpit.

I'm on the other side of the state. I doubt I could find two people around here that even know who King Krimson were. Not to mention Belew.

But one of the casino's has some good acts so maybe there is still hope.

[90-percent]

19. Adrian

I think he's from Kentucky?

I know he was "discovered" by Frank Zappa, who saw him playing in a Holiday Inn.

Adrian can make some wonderful sounds on his guitar. Plus, he did a great Bob Dylan imitation on the Zappa song "Flakes".

-90%

[Bonobo]

23. I believe he is from Memphis and he was indeed discovered by FZ.

You know your FZ. Cheers.

Adrian has played with Zappa, Talking Heads, Bowie, King Crimson.

He is an overlooked gem with some great songs and great talent.

[90-percent]

24. FZ

Has been my hero since the October 1971 Stony Brook late show with the Flo & Eddie band.

What resonates the most to me is his values. Hard work, anti-drug, anti-ignorance, humor and a mind that thinks in classic terms. Frank's thinking holds up with time. Hot Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel, circa 1985 or so, speaks for that time as well as now.

Republicans is fine,
If you're a multi-millionaire
Democrats is fair,
If all you own is what you wear
Neither of 'em's REALLY right,
'Cause neither of 'em CARE
'Bout that Hot-Plate Heaven,
'Cause they ain't been there

-90% Jimmy

PS - Thanks to Zappa tribute bands, I had the opportunity to meet Ike Willis, Ray White, Bunk Gardner and see Don Preston. Last February in Teaneck NJ. Ike is a real nice guy. Very friendly.

[Bonobo]

25. So you saw Project Object too, eh.

I've seen 'em many times and that's how I hatched my plan to take Adrian to Japan.

Ya see, Andre, head of Project Object, is Adrian's guitar and sound guy.

Small world.

Ike is a kool guy. Do you know he is a poli sci major?

[90-percent]

26. Well then

I compliment you on your association with Adrian and Andre. I read somewhere Ike walked away from college or pro football to work for Frank. Ike told me that he was going to be a lawyer and walked away from that to work for FZ.

Ike had the longest working tenure for Frank. I got the impression Frank really liked Ike. After all, Frank wrote Joe's Garage for Ike's voice. So, I wish Gail would lighten up with respect to Ike and other ex-Mothers. I think Ike deserves more considering he devoted his working career to Frank.

Very nice to meet you. See you at the next P/O show!

I met here on DU a fellow that grew up with Ike in St. Louis!

-jim

[Bonobo]

27. Frank and Ike were tight for sure.

Couldn't have Thingfish without the Mammy-Nun, Ike, after all.

Gail is a stone cold bitch, that's for sure. She is a menace and has brainwashed Dweezil too. I hate that stupid-ass GZ moustache/beard logo they TM'ed.

I live in Japan now (and forever) so I don't expect to be seeing PO for a while though.

Look in your PM. It would be nice to hook up with you on FB if you got an account.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bonobo]

15. Please allow me to alert for racist speech. Bye now. nt

[Control-Z]

16. That was very

politely worded. Thank you.

[Maat]

17. I'm a member of the San Diego Zoological Society ...

and I remember an employee talking about the society's efforts to keep the species going. Everyone was trying to think of ideas (the ones listed in the article). The main idea is to cross-breed the Northern white to a Southern white, hoping that the gene pool will survive somehow (described in the article). The whole situation is so sad.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. There are no words...

only tears.

[Sonoman]

20. My mother raises Southern White Rhinos.

There are two large breeding operations in Texas who are trying to make sure this doesn't happen to the S White Rhino. These are very sophisticated efforts involving AI and ET so as to avoid narrowing the gene pool.

Both of these operations also sponsor extremely aggressive anti-poaching efforts in S Africa.

Every day is a sad day in Rhino Country.

Sonoman

[Shagbark Hickory]

21. The things men won't do for virility. nt

[Withywindle]

22. kick

:cry: