“Search for the rare Ivorybill” by Don Eckleberry

I thought that the best description of the ivory bill woodpecker was when Eckleberry said “I was tremendously impressed by the majestic and wild personality of this bird, its vigor its almost frantic aliveness.” Through this vivid description I was able to image the bird, for the entire reading.

I thought that the alluring tale of the ivorybill woodpecker, by Eckleberry, is a call to action and hope. I thought it was interesting that after the whole long explanation and depiction of the journey to save the Ivorybill Eckleberry says “Possibly there are still, at this writing, ivorybills in the south…” For Eckleberry to have that much hope for the species shows his true dedication. I found myself envious of his continuous hope for the species. When all the evidence suggests that there will never be another sighting again and he still has hope.Eckleberrys’ dedication to the ivorybill woodpecker reminds me of Timothy Treadwell’s’ dedication to the grizzly bears.

I thought that the most powerful lines of the entire reading were at the end when Eckleberry says “Nature is little concerned with the fate of the individual, but there is no greater tragedy in the scheme of things than the extinction of a species.” I think that it is interesting that people are willing to save some animals for instance a polar bear and yet so much more could have been done to save the ivorybill woodpecker. This was an interesting reading and I now find myself what have we really learned from the Ivorybilled woodpecker?