The last known caterpillar that could have become a Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly has died.

The term for an animal that is the sole survivor of a species is endling. In a sense, we are all endlings—each the last of our kind.

The loss of a species is not simply the loss of a biological category—it is the loss of countless unique individuals and their collective potential.

Each of us is the bearer of a singular and unrepeatable world. This is a memento mori, a reminder to honor what is fragile and irreducible in all beings.

http://crimethinc.com/endlings

Toughie, the last of the Rabbs’ Fringe-Limbed Treefrogs, taught us the word endling. He passed away on September 26, 2016. May all of us still living fight to defend each other and the beauty of the world.