i recieved this in another group that i belong to. i felt the need to pass it on, and i hope all will take a moment to honor the life of the goddess of the river...


Please join me in a moment of silence sometime today
or tomorrow in honor of the Baiji Dolphin, the dolphin
that the Chinese called "The Goddess of
the River." After 20 million years of thriving in the
Yangtze River of China,
the Baiji Dolphin was officially declared extinct
yesterday by an expedition
of international experts who tried in vain to find any
survivors. The Baiji
Dolphin was the first large marine mammal to go
extinct since hunting and
over-fishing killed off the Caribbean Monk Seal in the
1950's. The dolphin was
a victim of the new market based economy of China. The
once ancient species
fell victim to over-fishing, pollution, and the
increase in ships on the river
using sonar that interfered with the dolphins use of
its own sonar to find
food. Goodbye to the Goddess of the River. May the
waters of Tir Na Nog treat
her better than we did. For us, she is no more.