Lost World!

Reid, Walter Hingley, and others have been sending me news of the wonderful "Lost World" found by ornithologist Bruce Beehler and his colleagues in New Guinea-- go here and here and here for reports.

Matt says: " "He [ Beehler ] added, 'The fact that scientists can still findnew species means there are still wild areas out there with things we do not yet understand.' "

"He could be writing about all our backyards, just as easily.... as if there is a whole lot we understand about anything!"

I am also reminded of some lines from Peculiar's obit for Heinrich Harrer, which you should read in its entirety. He says:

"...the remaining wildernesses are places we venture, but do not remain; our interaction with them is always artificial and temporary. As we lose Harrer and the last few like him, we are losing the knowledge of how it feels to enter a forbidden kingdom, discover a lost tribe, find a means of life in an empty land, venture beyond the edge of all our maps. I fear already young people are unmoved by tales of discovery because they cannot imagine how it would feel to truly discover a thing by themselves. There are many for whom a photo essay or a documentary film is a perfectly acceptable substitute for a physical journey. The wonder of beholding living creation is being replaced by the wonder of fantasy. Fantasy wonders are not bad things in themselves, but are they enough to make people step outside themselves and feel the world, their fellow men and the divine? Explorers' writings need to be read, and hard paths need to be traveled. Otherwise, life is only a game with nothing at stake."