It is common for even secular and scientific enterprises to use the image of Noah's Ark as a metaphor for saving species threatened with extinction. As I mentioned last week, the book of Genesis offers us the first of the covenant or promise stories found in scripture. Noah and his family build a ship to house species in twos and sevens to save them from rising flood waters. The story culminates with the rainbow promise.
It is fascinating to find that the identification of new species on "ark" Earth continues at a breath-taking pace, even as we are concerned about extinctions. A recent inventory of the oceans identified hundreds of previously unknown creatures. I read today that since the summary of mammals completed in 2005, with the number at 5400, another 400 have been discovered. I'm sure most of us have assumed that every creature that could be discovered has already been identified, especially as humans encroach on virtually every wild area. The saddle-backed Tamarind monkey pictured above was found in the Brazilian Amazon last year.
The positive side of this is an appreciation that we live on a marvellously diverse planet. The downside is that we bulldoze ahead in our expansion into various habitats without much understanding of the impact. It's estimated that we have actually identified a mere 15% of the world's species and many will topple over the brink of extinction without our knowing that they had existed in the first place.
I think the ark metaphor continues to be really helpful. And God help us if we continue to act as though we are the only species that matters.
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I was helping in our local school this past year, as part of an enrichment science program. The day was led by a passionate "taxologist" (?)...one who classifies plants, animals etc.
I was amazed by her description of things not yet named or classified, and how excited these scientists become as they learn of the discoveries of new creatures/plants etc, and then begin the long process of classifying them. I had not thought about things yet undiscovered on this old earth. "God truly is in the details" and much to the chagrin of we confident, oft self-centered humans, also the captain of our ark.
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