Sorry for the double posting but would the New Zealand government really let some foreign tech companies use their national and natural heritage like that?
"Dire wolves" are now a real thing
- Thread starter DavidBrown
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I agree!For what?... New Zealand has changed a lot since the moa went extinct, what chance would there be of successfully reintroducing giant flightless birds? What's next, Haast's Eagle to prey on the moas and terrify NZ?
Focus on the Dodo and Thylacine, that actually have some chance to be reintegrated into today's ecosystems. At any rate, all they've made are woolly mice and some genetically modified gray wolves and we're already pitching more and more "return from the dead" projects. There is something to be gained from the genetic work I suppose, but personally I think this whole venture is a massive waste of money.
I realise this is largely fantasy, but before they do Moas, I’d like Cnemiornis please!
However, if a naturalised population of Rheas can exist in Germany, I’m sure Aotearoa could accommodate a few Moas.
Haast’s Eagle might be a grey area, given that it’s been said ‘eating people is wrong’.
However, if a naturalised population of Rheas can exist in Germany, I’m sure Aotearoa could accommodate a few Moas.
Haast’s Eagle might be a grey area, given that it’s been said ‘eating people is wrong’.
Considering the fact that the closest living relatives of moa are the tinamous, there's bugger-all chance that they would be able to successfully reconstruct something *that* big from something *that* small
Considering the fact that the closest living relatives of moa are the tinamous, there's bugger-all chance that they would be able to successfully reconstruct something *that* big from something *that* small
It'll probably just be a beefed-up ostrich if anything really, since actually having DNA isn't part of the picture here.
I can't wait for big chickens!
I mean, they do intend to "reconstruct" Thylacines from dunnarts - so if they think they can do that moas from tinamous sounds like a piece of cake.Considering the fact that the closest living relatives of moa are the tinamous, there's bugger-all chance that they would be able to successfully reconstruct something *that* big from something *that* small
What I would 'like' to see Colossal do [theoretically]...
As a sort of control sample for future de-extinction projects.... I think it would be interesting to see them attempt to recreate a living species in the same manner they do for extinct species. Pick out a species; Species A, pick out a relative to modify; Species B, see what separates them most significantly, modify Species B's genome... and see how closely the 'inbetweener' resembles the original.
It probably wouldn't be the most ethical thing... but then....!
As a sort of control sample for future de-extinction projects.... I think it would be interesting to see them attempt to recreate a living species in the same manner they do for extinct species. Pick out a species; Species A, pick out a relative to modify; Species B, see what separates them most significantly, modify Species B's genome... and see how closely the 'inbetweener' resembles the original.
It probably wouldn't be the most ethical thing... but then....!
The said topic of this thread is not a Thing now ..., it is just a fashion fiction, viral TikTok and X-machine driven BS and trendy fad by a Kapitalist system gone completely hype bad. It is as far removed from real science and trying to avert the Sixth Extinction and the Current Biodiversity Crisis. Now a commercial company has dropped its ugly head to hype its breed back project for a species long extinct in biology.... It has commercialisation and frauding science all over it.
Well and the last video snippet of the wolves I saw here recently there were people in with them supervising the introduction. The wolves were actively interacting with the keepers(?) as much as each other and acting extremely friendly and comfortable with humans. Basically acting like any dog closely raised by humans, they wanted petting and attention. Some great conservation education there Colossal, people don't need encouragement to have wolves or wolf-dogs. The "dire wolf" is apparently a friendly pet. Such trash in terms of education and "conservation". 
Lafone
Well-Known Member
I’d consider that a colossal (pun intended) waste of money. ‘De extinction’ is not a science it’s a money making scam - breeding pointless hybrids for simple curiosity appears a loathsome idea, to me at least.
As mentioned before in this thread this pseudo nonsense harms real conservation efforts and feeds the agenda of those who want to destroy habitats. Why protect anything if you can ‘Jurassic park’ it back etc.
If even a fraction of what it costs to do as you suggest was spent on projects to conserve habitats and species there wouldn’t be a need for more animals to go extinct.
Colossal and their supporters and backers continue to be an excellent example of ‘just because you can doesn’t mean you should’.
Well, "can" - they already admitted there's zero actual dire wolf DNA in those wolves after they got their hype. We don't even know if the results are actually close to what dire wolves looked like or not. They just ran some gray wolves through photoshop so to speak and have admitted as much. There's been no actual de-extinction and thus it is incredibly harmful to conservation efforts as you say.
Pantheraman
Well-Known Member
Well said.
And it's especially harmful to real-world conservation when said conservation was never fully funded in the first place.
Iguana_Cabana
Well-Known Member
Not a fan of Colossal or Thiel myself (why must man play God?), but the ESA, MMPA, and the other “protection” legislation must go, as they are doing more harm than good (especially these days).
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Iguana_Cabana
Well-Known Member
Especially the ESA (shout out all my USA Chelonoidis niger and Astrochelys radiata keepers/breeders)
Lafone
Well-Known Member
On the grounds of some random nonsense science you don’t agree with you want to remove legislation that protects wildlife?
This is very confusing. What struggles are private tortoise breeders experiencing due to the Endangered Species Act that are important as to necessitate that the entire law "must go", ditto for how they are affected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and what do these private tortoise breeders have to do with Peter Thiel and Colossal?
USZOOfan42
Well-Known Member
You sound two-faced. Why would you think removing the Endangered Species Act is a good thing; only to help tortoise breeding
I’ve seen some of the tortoise “farms” and they don’t look too ethical. I also don’t get how they do more harm than good. Multiple species could be extinct; or near extinction if these acts didn’t exist.
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I would dearly love to hear a rational explanation of why the ESA and MMPA must go- but the fact is there isn't one.
Local_Shark
Well-Known Member
Speaking solely from a marine biological perspective, the repeal of the MMPA would be probably the single most devastating thing that any administration could do to a single class of animals - namely one of the most broadly endangered classes of large mammals globally. There is legitimately zero reason to even consider it, particularly because for our purposes here on ZooChat, it legitimately doesn’t affect marine mammals remaining in captivity at all. If it did, all this debate about SeaWorld would be very different! There are a multitude of exceptions to the Act that marine parks in the United States have utilized to acquire new individuals from foreign nations, which suffice perfectly fine to promote genetic diversity in the populations. I would be absolutely fascinated to hear an attempt at a rationale to opposing it, if only because I’ve no doubt it would be a…truly interesting viewpoint. Probably not for this thread but color me intrigued.
With greater respect to this thread, Colossal and all of these other “conservation firms” would be vastly better served in trying to preserve the species we currently have now than to “recreate” ones that didn’t even die off due to human influence. But what they’re doing isn’t conservation, it’s vanity.
With greater respect to this thread, Colossal and all of these other “conservation firms” would be vastly better served in trying to preserve the species we currently have now than to “recreate” ones that didn’t even die off due to human influence. But what they’re doing isn’t conservation, it’s vanity.
The ESA is the backbone of endangered species protection in the United States. What are you talking about?