Extinction Resurrection?

[najekim]

And now for something completely different. . .

Mastodon, Wooly Mammoth, Dodo, Smilodon, American Lion, Passenger Pigeon, Tasmanian Devil.

These are but a few animals scientists and geneticists believe can be brought back from extinction.

Should any of them be brought back into existence? Why?

Yes, because. . .

Yes, but. . .

No, but. . .

No, because. . .

[God_of_Thunder]

Eh... I'm ambivalent about recreating extinct creatures.

I can see how, if it were a recent extinction, caused by human interaction, a case could be made for returning those creatures to their environment, but not for creatures that have been extinct for a significant portion of time.

Nature's biospheres are particularly adept at filling niche roles left behind by extinct creatures. When an animal disappears from the environment, another animal usually adapts to take advantage of the absence, and moves in to fill the void.

By reintroducing an animal that's been extinct for a significant portion of time, it would be akin to introducing an invasive species. The biome has already adapted, and the newly resurrected animal will now be competing with whatever animal/animals are filling the role that the extinct animal used to occupy.

At the very least, it's going to impact multiple flora & fauna, almost certainly negatively. It could potentially lead to the extinction of existing animals, as they are pushed out of their place within the environment.

Additionally, nature works on the theory of "survival of the fittest." As the ecosystem changes, animals either adapt, or die. I don't much see the sense in reintroducing animals that couldn't survive back into the very environment that killed them off. Again, especially if they've been gone for an extensive period of time.

Nature has moved on, without them. They stopped evolving, and stopped adapting, when they went extinct. The resurrect animal will begin life with a handicap, because they'll already be behind all of the other animals that continued to evolve in their absence

[Lliam]

Good answer.

[God_of_Thunder]

@Lliam Thanks; I appreciate that. 👍

[Lliam]

I wouldn't recommend any predators other than the Tasmanian tiger. (The Tasmanian devil is not extinct). I think the Tasmanian tiger might still have a niche.

The dodo would be cool and might still have a niche in the environment. Maybe the American passenger pigeon. Both of those were wiped out by predation people in recent history and probably wouldn't negatively impact the environment.

As much as I would like to see a giant sloth, a glyptodont, a woolly rhino or mammoth, a mastodon, or so many of the other megafauna from the Pleistocene era, I don't see how they would fit in the modern ecosystem.

[NamerOfStars]

The Pyrenean Ibex already WAS.

[strateguy632]

yepp