Neil Griffin Explores Loss In Endings Encounters With Extinction

A Journey Through Planetary History

Neil Griffin, a veteran biologist, has spent much of his life fascinated by the natural world, a passion rooted in a childhood spent exploring the Alberta Badlands. In his latest work, “Endings: Encounters With Extinction,” Griffin delves into the complex cycle of life and death on Earth. Rather than focusing solely on the tragedy of loss, he explores the broader context of planetary history, where extinction is a recurring theme that eventually makes room for new discoveries and forms of life. He believes in writing about the world exactly as it is, acknowledging that the planet will inevitably undergo another round of mass extinction in the future.

Griffin reflects on the five major mass extinction events that modern science has identified. These catastrophes, driven by a range of factors such as meteorite impacts, planetary wobbling, and carbon-capture disruptions, resulted in the disappearance of approximately 99 percent of all animal, vegetable, and fungal life. While he acknowledges the inevitability of future extinctions, including that of humanity, he maintains a matter-of-fact perspective that avoids pure pessimism. He suggests that the end of one era often signals the beginning of another, and that endings always contain beginnings.

The Struggle For Survival

One of the most poignant moments in Griffin’s exploration involves his return to the Rosedale suspension bridge over the Red Deer River. Driven by childhood memories of watching bats emerge from under the bridges of the Badlands, he sought to reconnect with a species currently facing a dire threat. The white nose virus has become a devastating force, killing up to 95 percent of the bats it infects. This modern crisis serves as a vivid example of how species that survived for 15 million years, overcoming all manner of planetary catastrophe, can suddenly find themselves on the brink of disappearance.

After spending hours crawling about various bridges with no success, Griffin experienced a moment of profound connection when a group of bats finally appeared at the Rosedale bridge. For him, this encounter was not just a biological observation but a real and beautiful moment—a vivid and lived thing. He believes that trying to live inside such a moment is a key part of how to live. It highlighted the tension between the resilience of nature and the fragility of individual species in the face of evolving threats.

Finding Wonder In The Unknown

Griffin emphasizes that the natural world remains largely a mystery. While there are estimates of roughly 10 million species currently inhabiting the planet, science has only described and identified about one million of them. Furthermore, the detailed live histories, home ranges, and behaviors of only about 150,000 species are well-understood. This means that human knowledge of the natural world encompasses perhaps only 1.5 percent of what actually exists, leaving a vast expanse of biological wonder yet to be discovered. He argues that extinction makes space for this discovery.

He encourages readers to consider the immense scale of time and the persistence of certain creatures. He points to the crocodile as a prime example of an astonishing survivor, a creature that has remained largely unchanged for 235 million years and survived the extinction of the dinosaurs. By observing such animals, Griffin argues, we can better understand our own place in the timeline of the Earth. He suggests that we often fail to get a sense of great age as we walk around cities made of marble that is 500 million years old.

Ultimately, the book seeks to widen the reader’s perspective on existence. Griffin suggests that humans often lose sight of the planet’s great age while living in modern cities. He reminds us that the current human presence is merely a tiny fragment of the Earth’s long history. By shifting the focus from doom and gloom to a sense of curiosity, he hopes to inspire a feeling of beauty and wonder. He posits that the world is still filled with incredibly strange and fascinating things that humanity has only just begun to comprehend, urging a deeper appreciation for the enduring mysteries of the living world.