34. Extinction ~ loss, hope and redemption beneath the stream

We live in the age of the 6th Mass Extinction; one that is human caused. Yet, amidst all this loss, we are still finding so called ‘Lazarus’ species; creatures that we believe we had extirpated but have been re-found. And some that have not been proven, but many fervently believe are still alive, clinging on to existence away from human gaze and knowledge; ready for a second coming.
Why are we so reluctant to let go of that which has demonstrably gone? Why do we hold a desperate desire that some creatures are still there, but we didn’t care enough at the time to stop their eradication? In this episode we explore stories of the Tasmanian Tiger, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and others, and wonder why do so many of us ache for natural loss not to be final.
With music from Colin Williams
Some of the ideas and references we make in this podcast can be found here:
Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Thylacine
Arthur Conan Doyle
Cottingley Faeries
Sixth Mass Extinction
Yangtze River Dolphin
Passenger Pigeon
Honshu Wolf
Mexican Grizzly Bear
Tasmanian Emu
Tasman Starling
Coelacanth
New Zealand Storm Petrel
Mahogany Glider
Mountain Pygmy Possum
Adelaide Pygmy Blue-tongued Skink
Bridled Nail-tailed Wallaby
Night Parrot
Aldo Leopold’s ‘Sand County Almanac’ 
Darren Rees
Ghosts of Gone Birds
BirdLife International
Carolina Parakeet
John James Audubon
Galapagos 
Lonesome George
Natural History Museum, Tring
Sam Keen