We should protect the endangered species. Why? there are a host of possible answers: because other creatures have a basic right in themselves to be treated as equally valuable expressions of evolution as we humans; because our own self-interest may depend on some future use we come to make of these species or the habitats on which they depend; because we have no right to deprive future generations of their enjoyment or use of these creatures. But more important than all these is the fact that we owe it to ourselves, right here now, to fulfill our obligation to act as stewards of the heaving and mysterious multitude of life.