Posted on 08/18/2005 8:48:30 AM PDT by aculeus
If a group of US researchers have their way, lions, cheetahs, elephants and camels could soon roam parts of North America, Nature magazine reports.
The plan, which is called Pleistocene re-wilding, is intended to be a proactive approach to conservation.
The initiative would help endangered African animals while creating jobs, the Cornell University scientists say.
Evidence also suggests, they claim, that "megafauna" can help maintain ecosystems and boost biodiversity.
"If we only have 10 minutes to present this idea, people think we're nuts," said Harry Greene, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University, US.
"But if people hear the one-hour version, they realise they haven't thought about this as much as we have. Right now we are investing all our megafauna hopes on one continent - Africa."
Wild America
During the Pleistocene era - between 1.8 million to about 10,000 years ago - North America was home to a myriad of mega fauna.
Once, American cheetah ( Acinonyx trumani ) prowled the plains hunting pronghorn ( Antilocapra americana ) - an antelope-like animal found throughout the deserts of the American Southwest - and Camelops , an extinct camelid, browsed on arid land.
But man's arrival on the continent - about 13,000 ago, according to one prevalent theory - pushed many of these impressive creatures to extinction.
Their disappearance left glaring gaps in the complex web of interactions, upon which a healthy ecosystem depends. The pronghorn, for example, has lost its natural predator and only its startling speed - of up to about 60mph - hints at its now forgotten foe.
By introducing living counterparts to the extinct animals, the researchers say, these voids could be filled. So, by introducing free-ranging African cheetahs to the Southwest, strong interactions with pronghorns could be restored, while providing cheetahs with a new habitat.
Public acceptance
Other living species that could "stand in" for Pleistocene-era animals in North America include feral horses ( Equus caballus ), wild asses ( E. asinus ), Bactrian camels ( Camelus bactrianus ), Asian ( Elephas maximus ) and African ( Loxodonta africana ) elephants and lions ( Panthera leo ).
"Obviously, gaining public acceptance is going to be a huge issue, especially when you talk about reintroducing predators," said lead author Josh Donlan, of Cornell University. "There are going to have to be some major attitude shifts. That includes realising predation is a natural role, and that people are going to have to take precautions."
However Americans might do more than put up with their new compatriots - they might actually welcome them.
According to Dr Donlan and his colleagues, the re-wilding plan would offer ecotourism and land-management jobs to help the struggling economies of the Great Plains and Southwest.
Dr Donlan said that large tracts of private land are probably the most promising place to start, with each step carefully guided by the fossil record and the involvement of experts and research.
"We are not advocating backing up a van and letting elephants and cheetah out into the landscape," he said. "All of this would be science driven."
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/08/18 09:24:50 GMT
© BBC MMV
Exactly. I wonder if anybody will actually bother to ask those of us who live here?
Here in Wyoming wolf re-introduction was wildly unpopular and it got shoved down our throat anyway at the ridiculous and still rising cost to taxpayers of something like $100 million. The wolves have contributed nothing to our economy as people would have come to Yellowstone with or without them. But the ranchers who have to put up with their valuable registered livestock being slaughtered and who are compensated as if the animals were feeder cattle are taking a major hit. Ranching isn't very profitable and when wolves kill 5 or 6 or more several thousand dollar cows it is a major hit.
Now they want to give us lions?
I'm sure these critters would provide a huge boost to the firearms industry.
Are these researchers accusing Native Americans, whom everyone knows are at one with nature, of driving these creatures to extinction?
Note to Cornell: my mom's backyard is not your playground.
How about "hairless asthma hypoallogenic mammoths" for pet owners with asthma problems and allergies. Kids would love one in their back yards.
I'm sure these critters would provide a huge boost to the firearms industry.
Are these researchers accusing Native Americans, whom everyone knows are at one with nature, of driving these creatures to extinction?
Note to Cornell: my mom's backyard is not your playground.
"We are not advocating backing up a van and letting elephants and cheetah out into the landscape," he said. "All of this would be science driven."
"Science driven" --- Got it.
I see... and the Porkupine hints that an animal with big teeth needed a toothpick... brilliant logic..
Didn't these people see Jurassic Park! But this is just dumb.
This would save me a lot of money on that African photo safari I've always dreamed of going on.
The only problem that i have is that the Pleiscocene animals went extinct for a reason. Climate had a lot to do with that. Also, how would they compete with native animals? In Florida, there are now several non-native parrot-type species that have become well established. Also, would they be carriers of exotic disease that may pass to native plants or animals that lack resistance? Introducing non-native species into local ecosystems, IMHO, is a big mistake.
The bad part is that the wolves eventually wnader out of the aprk and start seeing cattle as a new food source.
It ought to make hunting season fun.
and then I'd charge suckers an arm-and-a-leg to view the critters from a air-conditioned, gas-guzzling SUVs!!!
I hope they re stock mastedons and saber tooth tigers.
Why did they survive in Africa living next to man?
Is the Prof. saying that native americans who held all of nature in reverance, were at one with the environment, stewards of the land, minimized their impact on the country side, killed only what they needed,etc. with stone age weapons hunted these species to extinction? On foot? In hunting parties of 2 to 20?
Did they really do this!?
He probably did not run this by the Native American Studies department at Cornell.
Winter is long and hard in Ithaca high above Cayuga's waters This sounds like a professorial attempt to be at lower lattitudes from October through mid-May.
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