Chapter 13- The Thing with Feathers

Kolbert final point discusses various efforts done to save species from extinction. The author final location is Institute for Conservation Research (ICR) in San Diego. Marlys Houck, a researcher at the institute, specializes in tissue culture, shows Kolbert a large metal tank that contains what is left of the black-faced honeycreeper. The Frozen Zoo maintains the largest collection of species in deep freeze. Kolbert remembers all the other species she researched from the various countries she’s visited trying to “calculate how many little plastic vials and vats of liquid nitrogen would be required to store cultures of all the frogs...corals...pachyderms.”(261) The author wants to remind the reader that these little plastic vials represent the end for hundreds of organisms if humans don’t take action. Humans will make various sacrifices to save these animals because of efforts done by the Conservation Movement.

The Endangered Species Act shows the incredible lengths people will go to protect endangered organisms. Kolbert discusses her meeting Kinohi, a Hawaiian crow, held in captivity as the species became extinct in the wild which could have been caused by habitat loss, predation,etc. Kinohi was born at a captive breeding facility and many efforts have been done for him to contribute to the limited gene pool. Kolbert states, “Durrant stroked the area around his cloaca--but at  the time of my visit he still failed to deliver what she referred to as “high-quality ejaculate.” (266) The bird’s sex life shows how serious humans take extinction even willing to jack off crows. But when the world changes faster than species can adapt it leads to the loss of many organisms. Humans have to change their behavior and preserve what is left in the world’s ecosystem. No matter the efforts done to prevent extinction if action isn’t taken before a problem arises it's a lost cause.