Chapter eleven - Waleska Reyes

Chapter eleven - Waleska Reyes

Kolbert is visiting the Cincinnati Zoo to meet a rhinoceros named Succi. Succi is a Sumatran rhinoceros, which is one of five rhino species left in our planet. Kolbert explains that Sumatran rhinos lives in the Himalayas, they were very common then but are not becoming extinct. A group of conservationists gather a small group of rhinos in hopes to save them in American zoos. Unfortunately many rhinos died immediately.

Many of the rhinos were being inseminated in order to get them to reproduce. A rhino named Emi was inseminated who gave birth to Succi and Harapan. Kolbert highlights that the extinction of these rhinos is due to humans. In addition Kolbert points out that most large animals are herbivores whose size is used as a defense against its predators. But most of these animals are becoming extinct. My question is why do most large animals become extinct over time?

Kolbert then travels to a fossil site, named Big Bone Lick. Charles Lyell said that the fossils found in that site were of animals who became extinct due to the change in our climate. Another theory is that human beings hunted these animals into extinction. Evidence to support this theory is that these animals didn’t die out all at one but rather over time, their remains did not exemplify malnutrition, and these animals had already survived difficult climates. Although in the past it was an advantage to be a large animal once humans came into play it became a disadvantage.

Once again I relate this chapter to the theme that humans change natural systems. Once humans began to hunt animals they put some in extinction and made it a disadvantage to have the characteristics they did.