An Ode to the Cuter Mammals

This week's Ask a Scienceblogger is as follows:

Is every species of living thing on the planet equally deserving of protection?...

In response, I hath composed the following:

An Ode to the Cuter Mammals

If I were Noah, roused from drunken slumber,
forced to choose the duos of animals
of such a sad and limited number
to reside within the Ark's stalls,
thus protecting them from the squalls
of the righteous Lord's impending wrath,

you can bet that I would choose
only the most cutest of creatures;
for I could not bear to lose
those most adorable of features
that are the kitten's whiskers
or the otter lying on its back.

Do not question me this prejudice,
for surely it is ingrained and natural
to think the lovely more deserving justice.
Indeed, a world sans the cuter mammals
is not one in which I'd travel
-- is not one in which I'd live.

And speak not to me of Ecosystem
or of the obvious necessity
of molluscs and the like to feed them,
for surely could be contrived a recipe
for the cuter to exist on air and ecstasy
-- or perhaps a modified tofu.

In this momentous decision
about which to starve and which to save
let us resign ourselves to naive inclination:
select the ones that most we love,
for they the ones that most deserve.
-- and for the rest -- well, how unfortunate.