A rather subdued and perhaps contemplative snow leopard (Panthera uncia), Karma, on her last day at Jungle Cat World. It got me thinking about what it might feel like if I was one of the last of a species.

Whether you see life as being the product of the divine or the amalgamation of millions of years of selective forces crafting a form perfect for it’s environment, it is clear that life is a sublime treasure. Life is a way for this unique world to know itself: living, breathing, thinking, feeling avatars an individual note in the symphony of existence. If there are other forms of life in the universe, nothing can replicate what Earth has seen. Each event and force, from the miniscule to the earth-moving, has crafted so particularly what we have seen today. From an empty world arose thought and feeling...a light, alone, shining in a dark and endless sea.

We, as humans, I believe are misguided. Our perception of value has manifested primarily into things such as money, gold, jewels, possessions and entertainment. These are things so fleeting and frivolous that, within generations, let alone the timeline of Earth, truly have little value at all. Yet, today, through our actions we gladly exchange for these the existence of hundreds of thousands of species. Living legacies of life itself extinguished for our vanity, avarice and excess, never to exist again. Perhaps it speaks to our nature that we are the only species to have ever caused a mass-extinction event, but I would like to think that we can be just as much caretakers of this amazing world as destroyers.

We are leading the heart of this world, in its present awe-inspiring form, to death. With each species destroyed we bring this living planet – and ourselves with it – closer to oblivion. The light is fading. However, we have a choice. We can choose to use our abilities and intelligence to observe and sustain life. Each choice we make, large or small, affects the world and it is crucial our choices support the persistence of life rather than its end. However, don’t be discouraged or disheartened.

Spend time in nature, sit in the shade of a tree, listen to the song of birds, watch an animal play, look into the eyes of a tiger, and take the time to observe and understand the beauty and diversity of life. Enjoy the living world, know its true value, and choose to save life on earth... I cannot think of any cause more just. After all, as William James once said, “The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.”

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Snow leopards are found in mountainous central Asia, also called "the roof of the world". They are acclimated for some of the harshest terrain and climate in the world and are extremely elusive. Sadly, snow leopards are not elusive enough to escape the hand of man. They are an endangered species and there may be as few as 3,000 left in the wild with populations decreasing. Individuals are often the victims of revenge killing after taking village livestock, poaching for their bones and skin, prey depletion and habitat loss.

Please visit http://www.snowleopard.org for more information on snow leopards and how you can help.