That Cannot Fly
Tim Barrus: NYT
It would be simply far too easy to wrap it up with the idea that the human animal as a species went extinct because the species itself is extraordinarily stupid. When many species of birds becomes ill, and they end up fouling the nest, it is time to move on to build a better nest which is hard to do if what is making life into a sickness is ubiquitous to the planet. I have observed crows helping other nestless crows by presenting what is generosity in the form of materials (like well-formed twigs) to build newer, cleaner digs. The “helper” crows runs the risk of keeping his family fed which triggers the female to become provider. Her yearlings could starve. Trigger mechanisms are effective but poisoning is quite grim.
Elephants grieve. Grieving is a time of vulnerability. An animal wants to eat only if there is food available. Systems shut down. Save energy. Sunstroke. Famine. More carbon release from centuries and centuries of frozen permafrost. No oxygen, no fish. Mammals gather to eat dead fish. Males fight. Wolves eat horses. Humans. Pets will go first. Humans will grieve. The world did not die. The rule of Homo sapiens will impact grief’s implicit, suicidal take on memory which will cause complete distrust in what one sees. What is real becomes the new religion. Dystopian. The planet will spin on an axis just like it always has because physics is correct and the universe does not know we exist let alone if we are endangered like a community of crows that cannot fly.