Friday is Endangered Species Day*

To be honest, everything I hear about endangered species sounds both depressing and far away, partly because the Bush administration meddles too often in Endangered Species Act-related decisions, and partly because I just don't see these species often enough (perhaps because they're endangered) to have formed a deep, personal attachment to them.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying I don't care about endangered species. I do -- but the caring feels very abstract and cerebral, as opposed to heart-felt. But this Friday is Endangered Species Day -- a day that'll hopefully engage urbanites like me to get involved in preserving the natural habitat for animals we've only seen in zoos.

To get the public involved, zoos all over California are holding special Endangered Species Day events and exhibits! Actually, make that zoos all over California except the L.A. Zoo, which isn't planning anything because it's working on a "Meet the Berenstain Bears!" weekend event.

We do have one local event happening in Pasadena though. The Folk Tree store in Pasadena's currently showing a group exhibition titled "Endangered Species," which runs until Saturday, May 17.

I actually found out about Endangered Species Day from a turtle-loving nonprofit with an unwieldy name: The Association for the Protection of the Environment and the Marine Turtle in Southern Baja (ASUPMATOMA -- based on its name in Spanish). "Throughout the world, and in particular, the Gulf of Mexico region, sea turtle populations have been severely destroyed by years of careless fishing and hunting practices, exploitation of eggs, rapid land development, pollution, and destruction of sea turtle nesting habitats," they wrote me in an e-mail, urging me to write about the plight of sea turtles.

Part of me wants to get involved with these sea creatures, while another part of me's overwhelmed by the sheer number of species that are in similar dire straits.

I mean, the animal populations in trouble aren't even limited to the Endangered Species list. The polar bear still hasn't made it on there, though a judge did recently rule that the Bush Administration must make a decision on the issue by tomorrow, May 15. We'll see what happens tomorrow.... (*UPDATE: The Bush administration earlier today declared the polar bear a species threatened with extinction.)

I know many environmentalists sometimes get overwhelmed by the magnitude of environmental problems we have in the world. Usually I manage OK, but when I get to thinking about endangered species, I feel a sense of helplessness that lies somewhere between depression and repression. I'm wondering if "adopting" one species that I can focus on might be helpful -- puffins, maybe, except these birdies aren't actually endangered (though they are "threatened"). What's your favorite endangered species?

Comments

[Samantha]

I think it is horrible about all the endangered animals out there. it makes me cry a little when i hear about animals in distress.

[Happiness James]

i will love to get all informations about endangered species in my mail