Should we really bring back extinct species?

Hello,

Here's an interesting article: Should we bring extinct species back from the dead?

The two animals at the forefront of this discussion are the woolly mammoth, a hairy, close relative of the elephant that lived in the Arctic, and the passenger pigeon, a small, gray bird with a pinkish red breast once extremely common in North America. The last mammoths died about 4000 years ago, and the passenger pigeon vanished around 1900. Research on reviving both species is well underway, and scientists close to the field think de-extinction for these animals is now a matter of “when,” not “if.”

Blessed be,
Lepus

[Dargor]

I'd rather have them bring back dinosaurs and fill our zoo's up with them. But unfortunately that's scientifically impossible. For now at least...

And don't worry, after having seen Jurassic Park we already know what NOT to do lol.

Hello,

Dinosaurs lived in different climates with extreme hot temperatures, they won't live around much with the current climate change. I don't think there will be any possible ways to bring them back. Even if it were possible, why should we resurrect dinosaurs?

Blessed be,
Lepus

[Dargor]

Because it would be a childhood dream come true? I doubt there's anyone who never wanted to know what it's like to see REAL dinosaurs instead of only their fossilised remains. But yea as I said, I don't think it's possible to bring them back. Maybe in the next 50 to 100 years, who knows.

[Tobi]

My own feelings?
May be a great idea with a species which has only just become extinct. But the reasons for their extinction would have to be carefully analysed. And the balance of their environment taken into account.

For creatures like the Mammoth, Sabre-toothed Tiger....etc. then is that a great idea? The Earth is a vastly different place from the Earth when they lived. Could they live happily? Would they be restricted to a small environment and looked on as a kind of 'freak show'? If allowed to roam in national parks, how would they disturb the ecological balance as it has evolved since they last lived here? Or how would other creatures who have evolved since -disturb them?

[hoodat]

Passenger pigeons moved in huge flocks that literally blocked out the sun. They were very destructive of the environment and left devastation in their wake. They were shot for food and huge amounts were shipped to big cities as food that even the poor could afford but the real reason for them to be purposely wiped out is that farms and orchards couldn't exist along with the huge flocks and their lifestyle made it almost impossible for them to live in smaller groups.

Hello Tobi,

I agree with the analysis on how these species became extinct and how will revitalizing them would affect the environment. The ultimate goal of woolly mammoth revival is to produce new mammoths that are capable of repopulating the vast tracts of tundra and boreal forest in Eurasia and North America. The tundra and much of the taiga – the sometimes swampy coniferous forest of high northern latitudes – were once a grassland ecosystem known as the “mammoth steppe” which was home to abundant herds of antelope, deer, bovids, horses, and mammoths. At the end of the Pleistocene these herds vanished. Mammoths, like elephants in Africa today, were the engineers of grasslands keeping trees from growing onto the plains and dispersing large amounts of nutrients over immense distances. The mammoth is the keystone species to successfully restore populations of horse, bison, and other grazers.

Blessed be,
Lepus

Hello hoodat,

Here's a simulation of a passenger pigeon flock: LBP Passenger Pigeon Flock Overhead

Blessed be,
Lepus

[hoodat]

Originally Posted by Lepus

Hello hoodat,

Here's a simulation of a passenger pigeon flock: LBP Passenger Pigeon Flock Overhead

Blessed be,
Lepus

Thanks for that. It's good to know that there is film to back up the eyewitness accounts.

[hoodat]

The wooly mammoth may well be a very desirable species to bring back. They have not been extinct that long as such things go. Being large and highly visible they would be easy to eliminate again if it turned out to be a mistake. The climate change is a problem. They were creatures of the ice age and we seem to be in a warming trend at present.