Over the last few centuries many treasures have been found in America. Some of these treasures have come in the form of precious stones and minerals and some in the forms of antiques from historic times. Guns, knives, arrowheads and early American tools buried in old forts and left in caves. The latest discovery of ivory in the Southeastern swamps of Arkansas has the whole naturalist world just buzzing with excitement. This discovery, no doubt, has caused a flurry of action and excitement within many naturalist clubs in The United States and in some other parts of the world. When a natural treasure has been lost and decades later is found again it is only natural for the nation to get excited and involved to make sure that the treasure is not lost again. By now most everyone knows I am writing about the rediscovery of the Ivory Bill Woodpecker, thought to be extinct since the 1950's. In man's rush to conquer the world and build new industries and lay down new roads and parking lots, he has destroyed most of the natural world around him. The places where the Ivory Bill lives and has been hidden from people for so long is almost uninhabitable by man. The Mississippi River delta system with its many river tributaries and swampy areas is home for many forms of wildlife. If it weren't for some farsighted people this area would also have been destroyed many years ago to farms and industry thus never giving us a chance to see one of the most beautiful birds in the U.S.A. A lone kayaker enjoying a day on the Cache River in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge spotted an unusual sight. Being an avid birder he knew he had seen the legendary bird that was last officially sighted over 60 years ago. The closest relative to the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker is the Piliated Woodpecker and is found all over the Southern and Eastern United States. The bird the kayaker had seen was almost twice the size of the Piliated Woodpecker and flew much faster. These birds require approximately 6 square miles to support a pair; so much land is needed to maintain the life of the Ivory Bill. For many decades sightings of these birds have come in from Cuba and from Mexico. The latest excitement before the actual sightings in Arkansas came from Louisiana where many bird lovers came in bunches just to sneak a glimpse of this supposedly extinct bird. Many years ago a cartoon character was designed after the Ivory Bill and most people recognize him as Woody Woodpecker. Now everyone is at least familiar with these woodpeckers thanks to Woody. Not everybody, though, appreciates the rediscovery of this bird the way most of us do. When the last two Ivory Bills were spotted in a north Florida swamp there were two men that hunted them down and shot them just to stuff them and put them in some private collection just so they could brag about having such a rare item in their possession. It is my most sincere hope that such an ignorant and thoughtless act should never happen again. We have a chance to bring back from the brink of extinction one of Americas' natural treasures. We will never have that chance with the beautiful Carolina Parakeet or the Passenger Pigeon that both passed into extinction in 1914 in the Cincinnati zoo. How could our ancestors let that happen? It was reported that it took 2 or 3 days for a flock of Passenger Pigeons to fly over. They were shot by the millions and packed in barrels and shipped all over the world for meat. There have been other birds that are now extinct because of man's greediness. The latest bird to be declared extinct in the early to mid 90's was the Sea Side Sparrow in northeast Florida. Many more animals and birds here in America and around the world are on the brink of extinction and will be gone forever if we don't do our part in habitat preservation. There have been many success stories about the restoration of animals and birds to their natural habitat. Let's hope that the beautiful Ivory Bill Woodpecker will also be a success story. Students and others that study the Bible know that it is full of examples of how a person's greediness and hunger for ill gained wealth displeases our Creator. The Bible also has many examples of how kingdoms were destroyed and nations lost due to the thoughtless destruction and misuse of this world's natural resources. God states that He will destroy those that destroy the Earth. Let us do what we can to preserve and learn to appreciate what God has created just for our enjoyment. What a boring place this world would be without the excitement of many kinds of birds and animals. Just talk to a hiker and he will tell you that trees and flowers are beautiful but the challenges of hiking the high country and deep woods keeps you alert for the possible encounter with a wild creature.
- Uncle Burney ("Manna" August, 2005)
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