Protected, Neglected, and Lost
The tattered remains of taxidermied and prepared specimens of Protected, Neglected, and Lost represent parts of the natural world that we let slip away because we are busy doing other things. These specimens (parrot, burrowing owl, kangaroo rats) were once carefully prepared, apparently important. But because of inattention and neglect, they were lost. All that remains are bones and hard parts and the cotton that replaced their flesh. Their supposedly protective environments were thoughtlessly damaged or eliminated, thereby admitting scavenging dermestid beetles.
Without vigilance, even those creatures that we ostensibly value and have given nominal protection are vulnerable to outright destruction by those who flout or circumvent the law. Many more organisms are threatened because of ignorance, indifference and thoughtlessness. In the end, we stand to lose both the creatures themselves and the resiliance of the natural communities to which they were integral, and on which we all depend.
Carol Selter
2012