Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Call to restock North America’s large mammals (Lions, Tigers,Bears Alert)
NewScientist.com ^ | 18:00 17 August 2005 | Kurt Kleiner

Posted on 08/17/2005 10:56:34 AM PDT by 11th_VA

Elephants, lions, cheetahs and camels could one day roam the western US under a proposal to recreate North American landscapes as they existed more than 13,000 years ago, when humans first encountered them.

The plan, proposed in a commentary in Nature and co-authored by 13 ecologists and conservation biologists, would help enrich a North American ecosystem that was left almost devoid of large mammals at the end of the Pleistocene period. It would also help preserve wildlife that faces the threat of extinction in Africa and Asia.

Between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, 97 of 150 genera of large mammals disappeared from around the world. Although a warming climate played its part, the consensus is that over-hunting by humans probably had a significant role.

In North America, by about 13,000 years ago, humans were leaving evidence of big-game hunting using sophisticated stone tools. This hunting probably helped to drive many animals to extinction, including North American mammoths and mastodons, lions, cheetahs, camelops (a relative of the modern camel), horses and asses.

50-year plan

Although those animals are gone forever, related African and Asian species could serve as proxies, the authors say. They propose introducing the animals over 50 years, starting with horses, asses and camels, working up to elephants, and finally bringing in the big cats.

Eventually, the animals could roam in preserves hundreds of thousands of hectares in size. The best place to create this “Pleistocene Park” would be in the North American Great Plains, where the human population is relatively low and the grazing animals would have a ready supply of food.

But other conservationists think it is a bad idea. Chris Haney, a conservation biologist at Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, DC, US, says that substituting modern equivalents of extinct species will not be the same as restoring the ancient ecosystem. And he thinks it would detract from more pressing and “realistic” goals, such as restoring wolves, grizzlies, elk and other animals to their historic North American ranges. Even those reintroductions have faced bitter opposition from ranchers, farmers, and residents.

"I need to work on wolves, not mastodons," agrees Douglas Inkley, senior science adviser to the National Wildlife Federation in Reston, Virginia, US.

Journal reference: Nature (vol 436, p 913)


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: andtototoo; godsgravesglyphs; mammoth; mammoths; mammothtoldme; notinkansasanymore; ohmy
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-110 next last
To: 11th_VA

No. the largest NA mammals -- giant sloths and other megafauna -- were all hunted to extinction by that paragon of living with nature in harmony, the American Indian.


41 posted on 08/17/2005 11:12:02 AM PDT by pabianice
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: edcoil

Although, if fire ants ever get this far north, I would entertain importing giant anteaters...


42 posted on 08/17/2005 11:12:50 AM PDT by LRS
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: 11th_VA
Interesting.  Ordinarily, the people living in the western hemisphere for the past 10k years are referred to with hyphenated names like 'Native-American'.   Here we're talking about people killing everything in sight, so we call them 'humans'.
43 posted on 08/17/2005 11:12:59 AM PDT by expat_panama
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 11th_VA

How about we move these nutters who dream up this nonsense to another part of the world? That would greatly improve our ecosystem.
Hunters with sophisticated stone tools, yeah right...
An ice age had absolutely nothing to do with it. I wonder where they are going to get dinosausers from?


44 posted on 08/17/2005 11:13:27 AM PDT by Nathan Zachary
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: don-o

There is a movement underway to really try and re-establish the Mammoth/Mastodon using frozen carcasess from Siberia and using cell nuclei to fertilize an elephant egg. That WOULD be AWESOME!.......


45 posted on 08/17/2005 11:13:39 AM PDT by Red Badger (Want to be surprised? GOOOOGLE your own name. Want to have fun? GOOOOGLE your neighbor's......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: Pondman88

What you said, Pondman!

ROFL!


46 posted on 08/17/2005 11:13:41 AM PDT by andie74 ("No power on earth has a right to take our property from us without our consent." -- John Jay)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

Just like when the got guns and helped to wipe out the buffalo herds.


47 posted on 08/17/2005 11:14:28 AM PDT by cripplecreek (If you must obey your party, may your chains rest lightly upon your shoulders.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: 11th_VA
Jurassic Park!

The people who support this plan should be placed in the enclosures to make sure the animals don't go hungry. And they should have to pay every penny of the project's cost, too.

48 posted on 08/17/2005 11:15:09 AM PDT by American Quilter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John O

I guess it would give me more target practice!


49 posted on 08/17/2005 11:15:34 AM PDT by andie74 ("No power on earth has a right to take our property from us without our consent." -- John Jay)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: George Smiley

Hmmmm, a hundred mile wide large predator park from San Diego to Corpus Christi...


50 posted on 08/17/2005 11:16:27 AM PDT by null and void (Be vewwy vewwy qwiet, we're hunting wahabbits...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: 11th_VA
I think tigers in Central Park would be cool.
51 posted on 08/17/2005 11:16:38 AM PDT by meowmeow (Meow! Meow!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 11th_VA

{Seinfeld voice} Oh yeah, I like this idea.


52 posted on 08/17/2005 11:16:53 AM PDT by retrokitten (www.retrosrants.blogspot.com- updated!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: null and void
Hmmmm, a hundred mile wide large predator park from San Diego to Corpus Christi...


53 posted on 08/17/2005 11:19:40 AM PDT by 11th_VA (http://vdare.com/guzzardi/0508013_mortgages.htm)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: truth_seeker
Yeah, but the humanoids caused this global warming, with their campfires, didn't they?

And, their SUVs...


54 posted on 08/17/2005 11:20:43 AM PDT by LRS
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: dd5339
"Now if they would just talk of bringing in some Cape Buffalo I'd be all set!"

There are already enough buffalo around where I live. In fact there is a buffalo ranch just 2 miles from here. Plenty of deer, moose, and elk too. I'd say 80-90 lbs would do the trick. That takes down a moose.

55 posted on 08/17/2005 11:21:12 AM PDT by Nathan Zachary
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: scory

yay! now i won't have to travel to africa!
that was the only place outside the US i ever wanted to go, and only for the hunting.


56 posted on 08/17/2005 11:21:44 AM PDT by absolootezer0 ("My God, why have you forsaken us.. no wait, its the liberals that have forsaken you... my bad")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: 11th_VA
I'm all for it. It'll give gun owners/hunters more reason to carry everywhere and it'll allow the animals to practice being predators on unarmed liberals.

The problem with humans being an Apex Predator is that we could get fat, lazy, and even more stupid. Mixing in dangerous animals into our enviroment isn't as stupid an idea as it sounds at first. From a certain Nietzschian perspective...

57 posted on 08/17/2005 11:22:50 AM PDT by Dead Corpse (Never underestimate the will of the downtrodden to lie flatter.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dd5339

what's the draw weight of a horsebow? i think that would be about what the native americans would have used on them. that or a hand thrown spear.


58 posted on 08/17/2005 11:23:42 AM PDT by absolootezer0 ("My God, why have you forsaken us.. no wait, its the liberals that have forsaken you... my bad")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: 11th_VA
The next smart aleck who wants to introduce cougars to the Midwest ... Oh wait they already have.

Shoot, shovel, and shut up.
59 posted on 08/17/2005 11:24:35 AM PDT by redgolum ("God is dead" -- Nietzsche. "Nietzsche is dead" -- God.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 11th_VA

Why not take this a bit further... For example, why don't we recreate the Precambrian era, before the pristine geographical features were sullied by the existence of life of any sort... Oh - I see why this wouldn't 'fly' - these self-hating people certainly despise human civilization in all of its forms, but they're perfectly happy with (in fact, 'worship' would not be too strong a word to use) any other form of life...


60 posted on 08/17/2005 11:25:43 AM PDT by The Electrician ("Government is the only enterprise in the world which expands in size when its failures increase.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-110 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson