The golden mole is threatened by the workings of a mine,

The pine marten and polecat live on borrowed time.-

Hippos cannot hide from illegal poacher' guns,

Do the cheetahs of Botswana watch their last setting suns?

As Arctic ice dissolved and polar bears decline,

Can the wolves of Ethiopia trust humankind?

Will the whitetip shark and angel shark avoid the fishing trawl?

How soon until the Mpingo tree takes its final fall?

The manta ray is troubled by pollution of the waters,

While cats of the Andes scarper from a slaughter.

Will the jaguar outrun the hunter's cold pursuit?

Can we save our ponds for the Great crested newt?

Will snakes find their lairs as habitat turns to road?

Does a parking lost come first or the Puerto Rican toad?

Will koalas in their hollows survive the ruthless logging?

Shall we bother to find out or is that just too much slogging?

Why don't we remember those with whom we share the Earth?

And why won't we honour and value their true worth?

We can't let our best friends simply vanish without trace,

So let's work together and restore their rightful place.

Martin Kiszko is a poet, composer and screenwriter. He has composed over two hundred scores for film and television and released eight albums. He is popularly known as the UK's 'Green Poet'. Whose Place Is It Anyway is from his collection of poems - 'Green Poems for a Blue Planet'.

1. workings of a mine: excavation in the Earth to extract coal or other minerals - the Golden Mole is severely affected by mining operations
2. pine marten: an animal from North Europe; about the size of a domestic cat
3. trawl: here, a type of net used for fishing
4. Mpingo tree: very dense and durable tree that grows in the woodlands of Africa.
5. cold: here, heartless
6. newt: here, a lizard like creature, bright in colour
7. slogging: here, too much effort
8. without trace: with no sign of their existence