No Chance To Say GoodBye

It has only been five years since the Australian Snubfin Dolphin was recognized as a separate species but the government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee is concerned that the Snubfin is on the verge of extinction. Found exclusively in the coastal waters off Northern Australia, it is only two meters in length with brown coloring on top, lighter brown on the sides, and a white belly. It has a bulbous head with a flexible neck and a small, snubby dorsal fin that is the reason for the name that we humans have given it. By their appearance and behavior, they are very appealing little beings and for those of you who have read The Tempest's Roar, I am certain that Pan would have loved knowing them. But before Pan or any of us ever get that opportunity, they will likely vanish forever. And we won't even get a chance to say goodbye...

It Would Only Be Fair

Recently, in response to my on-going attempts to convince your kind that whales and dolphins are intelligent and sentient beings who deserve to live free from persecution, enslavement, and murder, a man in Australia said he would believe this when he saw one of my kind write a book, compose a song, or appear on a reality show. I will concede that at least the first two require a certain minimum level of intelligence but I also submit that brainpower can manifest itself in many different ways, and what one intelligent species does in its own environment is not necessarily an appropriate measure for another. Let us suppose for argument's sake, that somewhere in the vastness of space, there is a race of beings with sufficient intelligence, knowledge and capability to enable them to visit the earth(setting aside why they would even bother). Using the same logic of my Aussie friend, since these space invaders were obviously capable of inter-galactic travel and you humans are not, it would be perfectly acceptable then for them to attack, enslave, or eat you. Would this make mankind any less intelligent? I think not. Oh, and by the way, if/when that happens, it would only be fair that the Aussie be first in line.