Kung Fu Ferret
The Usurper
This debate came up on a Zoo Tycoon 2 forum a while back, and thought I would bring it here.
For those who aren't paleontology buffs, the Pleistocene epoch was a period in Earth's natural history that started two and a half million years ago, and lasted until about 11,000 years ago.
This term does not necessarily mean bringing mammoths and other extinct species back via cloning. (since we don't have the technology and/or resources quite yet)
Basically, Pleistocene rewilding is the idea of intentionally repopulate the plains of North America, along with parts of Siberia, with similar species to those that have died out, thus filling in niches that have been vacant in those areas for millennia. This process would be quite heavily monitored by experts.
Muskox, wild horses, big cats, elephants, caribou, bison, and rhinos, among other large mammals, would fill in these voids in the ecosystem.
A void left by the Miracinonyx (the American cheetah), could be filled by the modern-day African cheetah, as the only animal fast enough to prey on the pronghorn antelope of the American plains.
Our prehistoric ancestors may have been at least partially responsible for the extinction of various megafauna, so I think it's at least worth a chance.
I can understand that some people would be against this rewilding due to the possible dangers of having large animals running around freely in a strange new environment.
Keep in mind that large herbivores such as elephants, for example, disperse seeds (through droppings), and make room for new plant life by knocking down dead trees.
There is a nature reserve in Northeastern Siberia where scientists are trying to recreate an Ice Age ecosystem, in order to prove a hypothesis that overhunting by early man was the reason that many species of Pleistocene megafauna became extinct.
What are your thoughts on this?
For those who aren't paleontology buffs, the Pleistocene epoch was a period in Earth's natural history that started two and a half million years ago, and lasted until about 11,000 years ago.
This term does not necessarily mean bringing mammoths and other extinct species back via cloning. (since we don't have the technology and/or resources quite yet)
Basically, Pleistocene rewilding is the idea of intentionally repopulate the plains of North America, along with parts of Siberia, with similar species to those that have died out, thus filling in niches that have been vacant in those areas for millennia. This process would be quite heavily monitored by experts.
Muskox, wild horses, big cats, elephants, caribou, bison, and rhinos, among other large mammals, would fill in these voids in the ecosystem.
A void left by the Miracinonyx (the American cheetah), could be filled by the modern-day African cheetah, as the only animal fast enough to prey on the pronghorn antelope of the American plains.
Our prehistoric ancestors may have been at least partially responsible for the extinction of various megafauna, so I think it's at least worth a chance.
I can understand that some people would be against this rewilding due to the possible dangers of having large animals running around freely in a strange new environment.
Keep in mind that large herbivores such as elephants, for example, disperse seeds (through droppings), and make room for new plant life by knocking down dead trees.
There is a nature reserve in Northeastern Siberia where scientists are trying to recreate an Ice Age ecosystem, in order to prove a hypothesis that overhunting by early man was the reason that many species of Pleistocene megafauna became extinct.
What are your thoughts on this?