>I don't know why we protect endangered animals - so what if they go extinct? What will honestly happen if we run out of Wild Germanian Tree Tigers or some such?

I agree with absolutely everything you said except this. If certain animals go extinct that can affect the entire ecosystem, which could affect us. You know, the whole food web thing. It might not be drastic or anything, but there would still be an impact. Also, certain animals are just fun to have around. I mean, I enjoy being able to watch and learn about tigers, and if they went extinct that would be bad, because I wouldn't be able to watch them and learning about them wouldn't be as fun.

Charon