The sting of defeat is never so uncomfortable as when it lasts indefinitely. The defeat we dealt ourselves by allowing the ocelot to go extinct is excruciating. Fellow humans, if we split the pain of losing the ocelot equally amongst all 7 billion of us, we would have a chance of coping with it. As it stands, only a few of us feel the full weight of our loss. Perhaps this obituary will more evenly distribute the regret, anger, and sadness I feel over the loss of the ocelot. Do not think me cruel, as we are all responsible for the extinction of this majestic species and we should all take equal responsibility.
The ocelot's beauty only scratches the surface of its value to the world. However, we would be amiss not to acknowledge the feline's superficial appeal. Its majestic fur, resplendent in the tropical sun, cannot be equaled ever again. The haphazard arrangement of its spots is actually a poignant observation about aesthetics in general: there is beauty in randomness. This appeal contributed to the ocelot's own demise, as human poachers decimated the ocelot population in order to secure and sell their furs. Measures were taken to prevent this, but it was too little too late. While the ocelot will certainly be missed for its visual appeal, the loss cuts even deeper than that.
Maybe you will read this piece and never feel the loss of the ocelot again, and maybe you will close this window and never give a thought to the matter again. I doubt this is possible because the loss of the ocelot will have widespread consequences for all of us. As an apex predator, the ocelot brought stability to the rainforest ecosystem. Only time will tell how severe the consequences will be, but the worst is surely yet to come. We may even see the widespread loss of rainforests due to the loss of the ocelot; it is hard to predict how a surge in the ocelot's prey will affect the ecosystem. It will simply be impossible to forget about the extinction of the ocelot as the effects will be severe.
Let this be a cautionary tale about the dangers of complacency. We rested on our laurels with regards to ocelot protection and now there is nothing we can do to save the,. Today we lost a species, a subset that represented a distinct form of life. If Earth is special in any way in the grand scheme of things, it will be because of the diversity of species that occupy this planet. Earth just became less Earth-like today. It is a discredit to our species that we let the ocelot disappear from our planet. It is a mistake we will pay for dearly, and the only thing we can do is to prevent this from happening to other species. Small consolation for the ocelot, which payed the price for our callous, unfeeling, nonchalant attitude towards species conservation. My greatest wish is that I'll never have to write an obituary for another species again.
The ocelot's beauty only scratches the surface of its value to the world. However, we would be amiss not to acknowledge the feline's superficial appeal. Its majestic fur, resplendent in the tropical sun, cannot be equaled ever again. The haphazard arrangement of its spots is actually a poignant observation about aesthetics in general: there is beauty in randomness. This appeal contributed to the ocelot's own demise, as human poachers decimated the ocelot population in order to secure and sell their furs. Measures were taken to prevent this, but it was too little too late. While the ocelot will certainly be missed for its visual appeal, the loss cuts even deeper than that.
Maybe you will read this piece and never feel the loss of the ocelot again, and maybe you will close this window and never give a thought to the matter again. I doubt this is possible because the loss of the ocelot will have widespread consequences for all of us. As an apex predator, the ocelot brought stability to the rainforest ecosystem. Only time will tell how severe the consequences will be, but the worst is surely yet to come. We may even see the widespread loss of rainforests due to the loss of the ocelot; it is hard to predict how a surge in the ocelot's prey will affect the ecosystem. It will simply be impossible to forget about the extinction of the ocelot as the effects will be severe.
Let this be a cautionary tale about the dangers of complacency. We rested on our laurels with regards to ocelot protection and now there is nothing we can do to save the,. Today we lost a species, a subset that represented a distinct form of life. If Earth is special in any way in the grand scheme of things, it will be because of the diversity of species that occupy this planet. Earth just became less Earth-like today. It is a discredit to our species that we let the ocelot disappear from our planet. It is a mistake we will pay for dearly, and the only thing we can do is to prevent this from happening to other species. Small consolation for the ocelot, which payed the price for our callous, unfeeling, nonchalant attitude towards species conservation. My greatest wish is that I'll never have to write an obituary for another species again.