The other de-extinction: Should zoos handle proxy rewilding?

[Gavinj90]

"In practice, de-extinction is the creation of hybrids or phenotypic proxies of extinct species. Strategies to achieve de-extinction utilize similar techniques as those utilized for extant species, including “1) backbreeding to reassemble ancestral traits; 2) inter-species cloning using a surrogate, where there would be some inheritance of genetic material from the surrogate; and 3) genome engineering, to mix and match extinct genetic sequences within the scaffold of a suitable near relative”"

So I guess using frog DNA to fill in genetic gaps for de-extinction of the Tyrannosaurus Rex would be frowned upon.

 

[Lafone]

I thought I was pretty clear about the Australian Rhino Project, but I suppose I could have made a better connection between that and why such a large herbivore might be beneficial to the Australian ecosystem where plants like elephant grass are invasive. I'll give you credit for that.



I'm dying to know what my apparent agenda is. Maybe you already have a title in mind for this thread, but I would like this more to a proof reading or fact checking. I.e. Instead of saying some bison are "purebred", I could have said some herd genetics are a conservation priority not simply for namedropping herd origins or breed bigger animals-but to preserve the wild behaviors and adaptations of bison that have been scientifically and historically proven to decrease with heavier cattle influence.

Proof reading something with no inherent structure, premise or argument wouldn't make any sense. Whether you said pure bred or not is a detail, the larger issue remains.

 

[La Cucaracha]

Proof reading something with no inherent structure, premise or argument wouldn't make any sense. Whether you said pure bred or not is a detail, the larger issue remains.

I suppose I wanted ZooChatters to make their own conclusions about proxy rewilding. I'm not actually here to convince you either way.

 

[Cassidy Casuar]

I'm pretty sure the original plan before was to put about 80 of the white rhinos in a semi-natural breeding center, as said in the thread. Again, as I already laid this out, it was very controversial because people don't believe African animals belong in the Australian outback.

I remember hearing in 2018 that the project was originally intended for black rhinoceros, but it had already been changed to being for southern white rhinoceros by that year. And then the plan became even less ambitious.

 

[La Cucaracha]

I remember hearing in 2018 that the project was originally intended for black rhinoceros, but it had already been changed to being for southern white rhinoceros by that year. And then the plan became even less ambitious.

It's really too bad.
The black rhinoceros is in even more urgent need of help; they would benefit from the a larger breeding group and expansive space, as well.
I was half-expecting the Australian Rhino Project to fizzle out by now just from how expensive it would have to be. I'm glad they reached some sort of compromise.

 

[Lafone]

I suppose I wanted ZooChatters to make their own conclusions about proxy rewilding. I'm not actually here to convince you either way.

Then the thread title 'The other de-extinction: Should zoos handle proxy rewilding' (italics are mine) is even more confusing as you haven't referenced the role zoos play or not, at all. 'Make your mind up about proxy rewilding' is not the same thing. Anyway good job you clarified you aren't here to make an argument to influence views, as you haven't made one.

 

[La Cucaracha]

Then the thread title 'The other de-extinction: Should zoos handle proxy rewilding' (italics are mine) is even more confusing as you haven't referenced the role zoos play or not, at all. 'Make your mind up about proxy rewilding' is not the same thing. Anyway good job you clarified you aren't here to make an argument to influence views, as you haven't made one.

No need to thank me for something I didn't do or claim to have done. I'm not exactly on a soap box raising money for the cause.

Zoos perse may not have a role in proxy rewilding, but other legitimate conservationists do. Maybe "surplus" or captive bred animals could be sources for rewilding projects, but that doesn't seem to be your real concern here.

 

[Cassidy Casuar]

Zoos perse may not have a role in proxy rewilding, but other legitimate conservationists do. Maybe "surplus" or captive bred animals could be sources for rewilding projects, but that doesn't seem to be your real concern here.

In New Zealand, when the Eco World Aquarium was forced to close after years of problems with their lease agreement, the four Tuatara that they held at the time of closure were all released into the wild (following a quarantine period in a separate facility). Arguably those Tuatara could be considered "surplus" in the sense that they could have instead gone into captivity at a different NZ facility that holds Tuatara (of which there are many), but evidently it was decided that using the aquarium's Tuatara for the propagation of wild Tuatara was more important.

As for the Australian Rhino Project, recent posts elsewhere on ZC indicate that the project has very likely been cancelled. It is not surprising if the participating zoos collectively decided that the delays to the planned rhinoceros imports had become so long that they were no longer tolerable.