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.
“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.”
During the Pleistocene era – between 1.8 million to about 10,000 years ago – North America was home to a myriad of mega fauna. But man’s arrival on the continent – about 13,000 years ago, according to one prevalent theory – pushed many of these impressive creatures to extinction.
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.
I think this would be a wonderful idea — BUT. The reactionary mentality dominating extractive and exploitive commerce doesn’t give a damn about ecology, balance or economic progress for local folks. Anyone who is a trout fisherman or a hunter who respects the role of predators has already experienced the backlash.
If it ain’t strictly for putting on the table for redneck gluttony, it stands little or no chance in today’s America…in my opinion.
Thanks, Joshua
GREAT! I always wanted an Elephant running down main street being chased by a lion
“During the Pleistocene era – between 1.8 million to about 10,000 years ago – North America was home to a myriad of mega fauna. But man’s arrival on the continent – about 13,000 years ago, according to one prevalent theory – pushed many of these impressive creatures to extinction.”
So humans failed to cause the extinction of these animals in Africa and southern Asia, yet, somehow they managed to wipe out the entire group in North America. Hmm, something makes me think that climate change would have had more to do with it than whatever scattered tribes of humans existed at the time. Especially since the last ice age is also estimated to have ended around 10,000 years ago.
Ain’t it something when there are Comments from people who not only don’t read the article in the link — they don’t even read the precis on the DU page.
I for one would like to see lions patrolling the fences on our southern border, bringing jobs and tasty illegals to the …………
Just joking, please dont flame me.
Time to buy a new hunting rifle.
When if ever is this supposed to occur?
“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.”
But this is what the end result always becomes! I’ve heard this load of crap before, when they brought back the timberwolf and moutain lion to my area. These so-called “scientists” have yet to explain the mysterious disappearance of calves, sheep, dogs, and cats this year. The wildlife people come up here from the city, plant a few invasive species in the name of “control”, and a very unexpected result occurs. I get to say I-told-you-so first: anything they plant will NOT eat or hunt or live like they expect it to do. It will certainly endanger something domestic. They will adapt unpredictably. LEAVE NATURE ALONE!
“They will adapt unpredictably. LEAVE NATURE ALONE!”
Jurassic Park comes to mind. 🙂
Leave nature alone — just bring cows, dogs, cats and sheep into a land that naturally held none of these incompetent invasive species. Oh, I guess ranchers, miners, loggers and others who reap where they haven’t sown — are supposed to be “native”.
Will someone please explain geologic time to the common sense crowd!
Hmmmmmm, You could hardly call that “natural’ now could you?
Hmmmmmm, You could hardly call that “natural’ now could you?
We’re not living in “geologic time.” We’re living today. Anytime the government has attempted to manage an area to “preserve” it, the process has failed miserably. Yellowstone today is nothing like Yellowstone 50 years ago. The reintroduction of wolves has just been a smashing success.
So let’s introduce some more top level predators into the wild of America and see what happens. Great idea.
Let’s all learn to accept that the planet changes, and there is no going back.
#5
What do you think James – a .458 express?
>Ain’t it something when there are Comments from people who not only >don’t read the article in the link — they don’t even read the precis on the >DU page.
How about when we have posters who don’t read the posts?
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=2583
It makes more sense to me to provide the space for native animals, including predators; rather than introducing more forign species. We have enough trouble with introduces species already, and we have pretty well wiped out the native predators, or restricted their ranges so that for most areas the only predator is man.
Are we really so much smarter now than the guy who released every bird mentioned in Shakespeare into Central Park to compete with the native birds over much of the continent? We could nol control them then. By now, most of us think that some of them – like house sparrows – they are native species.
This will be especially great for the animals who wander off the reservation and meet up with Bubba Von Remington on a weekend Jack Daniels binge. Unless Park Rangers by the thousands, are assigned to humanely trap and release a lot of rednecks, this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Although it might work out to every-one’s benefit if local hunters were allowed to use the area, provided it was only for spear or sling hunting. That’s a reality series on Animal Planet I would watch.
#9: Just a clarification — “natural” to me isn’t including cows, dogs, cats, or other domesticated animals. I mentioned them because that’s what is disappearing that can easily be counted.
There are other, much better examples of messing with the aquatic balance of the Great Lakes (that I won’t bore you with) that lead me to plead “leave nature alone!”.
> Bill Said:
>It makes more sense to me to provide the space for native
>animals, including predators; rather than introducing more
>forign species.
I couldn’t agree more. There are already areas where they are doing this, and its working very well. I was recently at the Neal Smith National Wildlife refuge, that was just started in 1990, but already it has an amazing ecosystem complete with buffalo and elk. We need more of this, where its simply returned to nature. We don’t need to import exotic animals from half way around the world.
http://www.tallgrass.org/
Cheney will have more targets to shoot at besides quail and people.
“Unless Park Rangers by the thousands, are assigned to humanely trap and release a lot of rednecks”
Ha! That slays me. I can see traps with six packs and bags of pork rinds in them.
Siberian Tigers are cool. Let’s unleash the beasts!
These “geniuses” at Cornell should stick to mice and rats.
#20
I can see traps – big enough to fit their pickup truck – with six packs and bags of pork rinds in them.
This is one of the absolutely stupidest ideas I have seen in a long time. I have a degree in wildlife biology, although I don’t work in that field now. I can assure you that of the many attempts to introduce species to habitats to which they are not native, there have been very few successes. Most are environmental disasters.
I’
Would like to see a re-emergence of the Fauna that was here when Columbus started his journeys…
That or as some countries do, LET the cattle go wild, Pigs and sheep also…
#13
STA, if I’m hunting an elephant I want a damn cannon. I don’t want to just piss the thing off, I want it dead!
Cheney will have more targets to shoot at besides quail and people.
Comment by sirfelix
Lawyers, not people.
😉
J/P=?
Here’s the comments from the last time around.
1. Shouldn’t you populate your plains with bison, and keep lions, zebras and cheetahs in Africa? Maybe you could buy some land there, say, the size of Kenya, Angola and Mozambique together, and do this over there? Kick everybody out, and then make a zillion on tourism. I think this is within reach of a very wealthy american? Buy out a few african countries?
Comment by Miguel Lopes — 8/21/2005 @ 8:28 am
2. Isn’t this the same crackpot thinking that gave us Starlings and Kudzu?
Yep. I just finished Jared Diamond’s Collapse, and so have also been reminded of Australia’s problems after the introduction of non-native species (i.e rabbits, and then the species/viruses introduced to kill the rabbits).
Seems stupid to introduce non-native species which did not evolve in a given ecosystem, or – per the Kansas school board – were not “designed” for it. 🙂
Comment by Mike Voice — 8/21/2005 @ 7:05 pm
3. “Place dangerous carnivores on U.S. soil”–cripes, did no one understand Jurassic Park?
Comment by Allan — 8/21/2005 @ 9:58 pm
4. Pleasssse…what BS. If you here the word “conservation” while we are under this administration you can be guaranteed that it means some sort of perverted business plan with ecological marketing.
I guarantee you that this is nothing more than a large storage facility for American hunters who are bored of killing deer or too poor to take a trip to Africa. We’ll shelter them here in case the people in Africa kill them all off then we’ll ‘conservatively’ manage their populations here so that the species can be “healthy”. They give the impression that these animals will “roam” the plains when they will likely be fenced into big land pens for paying hunters. See, the problem with America is that we don’t have enough animals to kill that we don’t eat.
This is just utterly idiotic and naive.
Comment by Teyecoon — 8/22/2005 @ 5:15 am
5. This sounds like a natural extension of what Clinton started, bringing back the grey wolf.
Comment by AB CD — 8/22/2005 @ 4:40 pm
The basic problem comes to the concept of:
WEve killed most of the animals on this contentent.
We need to make a NEW game animal… and those domesticated ones will do VERY well.
who’s Joor Daddy