African officials have declared the Western Black Rhinoceros extinct. It’s a loss of devastating proportion, cementing–if there was ever any doubt–just how poorly humans are managing the environment and jeopardizing the future of creatures who have been here much longer than us.

Throughout history, species come and go. One day (soon?), humans will also go the way of the dinosaur, the saber-toothed tiger, the black rhinoceros. But now, as we are quite consciously participating in our existence and our evolution, we have the ability to prevent the loss of species. Or, at least, that’s how it seems. Could we have done more to preserve a creature as awe inspiring as the rhino?

Nearly two decades ago, I spent time with two baby black rhinoceroses. It changed my perception of captivity and nature.

In the summer of 1996 I took a job working at the Pittsburgh Zoo. I was managing the children’s zoo staff. About 80 high school kids held posts in the goat, deer and kangaroo yards as well as several animal-themed rides and slides. It was hard work. We swept up a lot of animal poop and made sure kids didn’t hurl themselves off of the rides in a way that would ruin their day.

During my lunch breaks, I’d stroll the zoo grounds marveling at the many creatures. I had spent a lot of time at the zoo growing up. Chuckles the porpoise was an old friend. The llamas and I went way back. The elephants seemed to know me, too. I loved everything about the zoo (except for most of the humans). The smells didn’t bother me. The poop was endearing. I didn’t mind the hours or working on holidays. After all, I got to spend time with some of the most adorable, ferocious and unique creatures on the planet. I’d get to give lions giant bones on Sundays. I still have a tiger whisker and an ostrich feather that would have otherwise been swept up into the trash.

After a time, I applied for an internship, in hopes of one day becoming a zookeeper myself. Maybe I’d wind up like Jane Goodall out in some conservation effort deep in a jungle. Even though I was a vegetarian, the sad, captive nature of the zoo hadn’t quite dawned on me yet. All I saw was the natural curiosity of the many species. I believed the hype that zoos were special places helping to successfully breed endangered species. It’s not like they were purely for entertainment, right?  They served a function: to educate the community about the animal kingdom. In fact, it was the many summers I spent strolling through the zoo with my family that I credit for turning me towards vegetarianism in the first place. How could I eat someone who had a face, regardless of what species it was?

Both my boyfriend and I received internship offers in the big cat and rhino department. We couldn’t have been more thrilled. We were going to work face to face with lions, tigers and two baby black rhinos soon to arrive to replace the white rhinos heading to China. (Those rhinos were killed, sadly.)

The absurd nature of zoo life hit us quickly. The very first day our internship began, we were present for the euthanizing of a Siberian tiger riddled with cancer. She was a longtime resident who had even given birth there. Animals don’t get cancer in nature. Not like that, anyway.

But my main focus would be helping with the baby rhinos—a boy and a girl. If my memory serves me, their names were Jomo and Misha. One of them had been rejected by their mother, which is a common occurrence, particularly in zoo settings. They were both young—but by no means less than gigantic. As adults, black rhinos can weigh 3,000 pounds or more. These “babies” were tipping the 1,000-pound mark before their first birthday.

Baby mammals require milk. Most of my time was spent cooking up a concoction supposed to resemble rhino milk. It was a mix of cow milk, water, sugar and vitamins, heated up so it would be nice and warm. It gave the babies massive rhino diarrhea, which I’d spend most of the rest of my time cleaning up. Rivers of green sludge filled their tiny indoor quarters, which were about the size of my living room now. Sometimes I feel penned up in my own house. I can’t imagine what I’d feel like if all the space I had amounted to the size of a closet.

Once all the rhino poop was cleaned up, we had another task: coaxing the animals into their exhibit area. These were babies. Babies scared of venturing a few feet outdoors even though it was a much bigger area than their pens. We’d climb up onto the fake anthill in the exhibit and do our best to encourage them to come outside. They’d step slowly, squeaking and squealing like babies. It was adorable and sad. These beautiful, motherless creatures were nothing more than giant horned puppies taken from their mothers too soon.

Now, the only black rhinos on the planet exist in captivity. Their once massive sprawl of land has been replaced by cement and metal enclosures. The natural vegetation that made up their diets is now just piles of crunchy hay, day after day. Or, in the case of orphaned newborns, a milk soup that comes nowhere close to the real thing.

One of my most memorable experiences with the rhinos was on Christmas morning. It’s the only day of the year the zoo is closed to guests. The quiet is eerie and refreshing. We cooked up the giant bottles of faux rhino milk and brought them down to the cages where the babies squealed in anticipation for food that was only going to make them sick. The black rhinoceros has a prehensile lip—kind of like a very small elephant trunk. It can pull in food, and on this occasion, the baby girl pulled my hand into her mouth and began to suck with the pressure of an industrial vice grip. If my hand was crushed beyond repair, I wouldn’t have been surprised. She mistook me for her bottle, for her mother, and as she realized I offered no sustenance, she gently released my hand and rooted in search of the bottle.

Working face to face with some of the planet’s most magnificent species pushed me towards avoiding zoos and captive animal situations for good. And now, as one of our most beloved wild animals exists only in zoos, it brings up a whole host of questions: Should we support captivity? Aren’t these animals vastly different than those who’ve never seen a cage? Should we try breeding programs and encourage efforts to attempt reintroduction to the wild? Or should we simply accept that from now on, they live only in captivity?

How strange it is that we can wander into a zoo and see an animal who was once a representative for his wild cousins now a representative for extinction, for time passed, and a future Earth that is surely going to be a much different place.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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Images: 25kim (top), Jill Ettinger

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Can you imagine your grandchildren visiting a museum to look at the mere bones of animals that are alive today? We all expect to see a T-Rex in ancient, skeletal form, but an orangutan? When we were kids and we heard about animals becoming extinct in science class, the finality seemed grave but distant, like there was still hope and time, and their impending doom was so far off into the future we didn’t really need to worry about it.

Cut to twenty-five years later, and these endangered species are truly on the brink of being wiped off the planet. So let your kids get a good look at that polar bear at your local zoo, because they may not be around for another generation to see in the flesh. Here are five animals that will probably become extinct in your child’s lifetime.

Sumatran Orangutan

The Sumatran Orangutan seen above is threatened due to poaching and habitat destruction of the rainforests in Indonesia, where this species makes their home. Only about 6,500 remain in the wild, and they are poised to become the first great ape species to become extinct. Visit the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program website or Sumatran Orangutan Society to learn more.

Black Rhinoceros

During the 1970s half of the world’s rhino population disappeared. There are fewer than 2,500 Black Rhinos left on the earth. Considered the world’s most endangered mammal, the Black Rhinoceros faces severe endangerment due to poaching for his horn, which can fetch up to $24,000 in the Far East. The rhino’s horn is used in folk medicine in India and China as it is believed to cure headaches, and as a weapon and status symbol among men in North Yemen. Learn how you can help save rhinos in the wild.

Bactrian Camel

The Bactrian Camel is critically endangered due to habitat loss and drought. There are approximately only 950 Bactrian Camels left in the wild, struggling to survive in their native desert habitat in northwest China and Mongolia, which used to be used as a Chinese nuclear test range. These animals are also hunted for sport and killed because they are competition to domestic livestock for food and water resources. Learn more at the Wild Camel Protection Foundation.

Polar Bear

Iconic images of the polar bear swimming and sometimes drowning between melting patches of ice in his dwindling habitat have become synonymous with the case for global warming. Currently, between 20-25,000 polar bears still roam the wild, but if climate change trends continue, scientists predict that polar bears will be extinct within the next 100 years. Visit Polar Bears International to learn more.

Mountain Gorilla

Forest clearing and degradation are main contributing factors to the Mountain Gorilla’s pending extinction, and only 720 animals of this species remain on the planet. Additionally, in 2007, there were 10 Mountain Gorilla killings in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which severely threatened the conservation progress that had been made on their behalf. Visit the International Gorilla Conservation Program to learn more.

Images: Kabie Bakie, Matthew Field, Jeff Kubina, ltshears, Zouavman Le Zouave, and d_proffer

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As millions of gallons of sticky black crude continue to gush out of a pipe in the Gulf of Mexico, we’re hearing a lot about how adorable animals like sea turtles, otters and dolphins are going to be affected. But while we love the cute animals, we don’t want to overlook the so-called redheaded step-children of the animal realm, either. They need just as much help as the fluffy furry ones, if not more because, according to a recent study, ugly animals are more likely to go extinct.

Manatees

There’s a reason that manatees are called sea cows – they sort of resemble what the remains of a drowned cow might look like after a week or so. These bloated, bulbous animals may not be beauty queens, but they definitely deserve our attention and protection. Scientists don’t know exactly what’s going to happen when manatees start swimming through the oil, but they’re going to find out all too soon; a group of seven animals was spotted swimming along the coast of Destin, Florida.

Marsh Rice Rat

Few animals are more reviled than rats, even though these animals are technically incredibly similar to the ones we think are so dang cute (think fuzzy bunnies). The semi-aquatic Marsh Rice Rat resembles its landlubber cousins with its grayish-brown fur and long naked tail, but its need to dive underwater to forage for food like plants, snails and subterranean fungus will put it at risk as the oil seeps into the marshes of Gulf states like Louisiana.

Gulf Sturgeon

The gulf sturgeon, a bizarre-looking relic of the dinosaur age, ended up on the Endangered Species list back in 1991 when its populations were nearly annihilated in the wild by centuries of demand for its meat and caviar. During the warmer months, Gulf Sturgeon spend their time in coastal rivers from Louisiana to Florida, but come cooler weather they’ll be back in the Gulf of Mexico, where they’re likely to face a battle for survival in the aftermath of the oil spill.

American Alligator

It’s got a spiky back, a powerful tail that could knock you to the ground in an instant and what seems like a sinister grin. But as imposing as the American Alligator may be to us, this animal is defenseless against the negative changes that are starting to occur in the marshes and wetlands that it calls home in Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Alabama.

Shrimp

Shrimping is big business in the Gulf of Mexico – or at least, it was. The fishing industry has been effectively shut down for obvious reasons, and even when the fisherman are allowed to start trawling again, consumers might not bite. While the oil may not have had a catastrophic effect on creepy-crawlies like shrimp that live along the sea floor on its own, BP’s toxic dispersants are actually spreading the contamination deeper into the water.

Oysters

Because each of these bumpy mollusks breathe 50 to 100 gallons of water a day, “the oyster is to Louisiana’s estuaries what the fabled canary was to coal mine safety,” according to NOLA.com. So water that has been contaminated both by oil and by toxic dispersants will be deadly to the intertidal oyster reefs that grow along and just inside the coast of Louisiana.  Ironically, the American Petroleum Institute once produced a video with a segment called “Lifeline to Oysters,” attempting to convince skeptical Gulf fishermen that oysters and offshore drilling get along just fine.

Smalltooth Sawfish

The critically endangered Smalltooth Sawfish has already seen its habitat shrink from a large portion of the Atlantic Ocean to a small area near the lower peninsula of Florida. But when the Loop Currrent, a strong flow of warm water in the Gulf, brings oil to the Florida Keys, this rare fish could be wiped out altogether.

Plankton

They’re literally at the bottom of the food chain in the sea, but that doesn’t mean that curious-looking zooplankton aren’t important – they serve as sustenance for small animals like snails, shrimp and jellyfish, including some endangered species.  These drifting organisms are just as much at risk from the oil spill as the larger animals whose suffering we can actually witness.

Images:Andrea Westmoreland, Wikimedia Commons (manatee, marsh rice rat, sturgeon, alligators, shrimp, oysters, smalltooth sawfish, plankton)

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