Turning Back time: Do you think extinct animals today would be able to survive with Zoos nowadays?

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Listen, I just think it would be interesting to see them around walking in a zoo, and pardon if I sound ignorant, It was just a thought that I had.

Well, yes, it would be amazing and all this is interesting to contemplate as a thought experiment but of course none of these species are coming back as they are extinct (and should remain so IMO), they are all as dead as dodos (pun intended).

So ultimately maybe we should focus on still extant species ?

Personally I would like to see more of the tooth-billed pigeon or "little dodos" in zoos managed ex-situ and walking around well planted aviaries.

 

[CheeseChameleon1945]

Well, yes, it would be amazing and all this is interesting to contemplate as a thought experiment but of course none of these species are coming back as they are extinct (and should remain so IMO) so ultimately maybe we should focus on extant species ?

I would like to see more of the tooth-billed pigeon or "little dodo" in zoos walking around well planted aviaries.

Okay, Fine. I know they are extinct, and sorry if I sound overly eager, but I'm just excited when it comes to animals. I feel like some people on this forum don't quite get how awesome biodiversity is.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Okay, Fine. I know they are extinct, and sorry if I sound overly eager, but I'm just excited when it comes to animals. I feel like some people on this forum don't quite get how awesome biodiversity is.

Lol, I think I do actually get how awesome biodiversity is as I've made it my profession and vocation in life to conserve it.

The stories of species like the dodo and the passenger pigeon do move me but I don't get misty eyed about them as they are gone and the prescient concern has to be the work towards conserving still extant species before they join their ranks.

 

[Zoofan15]

side note did anyone know there used to be an Australian bird called the Demon-Duck of Doom? They had massive beaks and looked like a combo of a cassowary and dodo but put it on kill mode.

Yeah I remember reading about these when I was last in Cairns. They sounded lethal.

It's binomial name was Bullockornis planei:

 

[15399]

Dodos were famous for not showing any fear towards people and walking up to them and following them around in Mauritius.

In this hypothetical scenario and with such a large bird with quite a hefty and potentially dangerous beak this could likely cause problems in something like a walkthrough enclosure with the public.

This is likely something to happen on an individual basis, just like all other bird species. For instance, I've seen turacos that thrive in walkthroughs and have been kept successfully for years, however I have also seen turacos that have been aggressive to either other birds or visitors in walkthroughs. Dodo would be the same way.

 

[CheeseChameleon1945]

Lol, I think I do actually get how awesome biodiversity is as I've made it my profession and vocation in life to conserve it.

I know, Its just-Everyone on the site has such a strong passion for animals, I just feel like I always get excited for every single animal in the world, and everyone else just shrugs it off.
Fine, Just look at everything without excitement.
Fine, just be fix-minded.
Fine, just be realistic.
geez, I wonder if there's even real people on this site lol.
They simply don't get excited for anything lol.

 

[15399]

Well, yes, it would be amazing and all this is interesting to contemplate as a thought experiment but of course none of these species are coming back as they are extinct (and should remain so IMO), they are all as dead as dodos (pun intended).

So ultimately maybe we should focus on still extant species ?

Personally I would like to see more of the tooth-billed pigeon or "little dodos" in zoos managed ex-situ and walking around well planted aviaries.

I've never heard of the tooth-billed pigeon, just looked it up and it's a pretty interesting looking columbiform. Do any zoos currently manage this species?

 

[Zoofan15]

I remember reading a story about how the last Quagga stallion kept at London Zoo broke it's leg, kicking the wall of it's exhibit in a fit of rage. It's accomodation was clearly inadequate, but this species surely would have done well at some of the large open range zoos we have today e.g. Monarto Zoo and San Diego Wild Safari.

I agree with comments that the Thylacine would breed well in the Australian zoos. They were bred at Melbourne Zoo in 1899.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

This is likely something to happen on an individual basis, just like all other bird species. For instance, I've seen turacos that thrive in walkthroughs and have been kept successfully for years, however I have also seen turacos that have been aggressive to either other birds or visitors in walkthroughs. Dodo would be the same way.

Yes, I agree, but those curved beaks are believed to have been used in intraspecific territorial disputes apparently and I can imagine that such a large bird probably would probably not think twice about pecking people that it thought had invaded its territory.

 

[Westcoastperson]

These are not recent extinctions, are they? Thank you for sharing @Westcoastperson, but I am primarily talking about more recent extinctions such as the Thylacine, not early prehistoric birds. Interesting thought though.

these were around about five hundred years ago, except for the duck of doom I just wanted to bring one that up because I thought the name was funny

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I've never heard of the tooth-billed pigeon, just looked it up and it's a pretty interesting looking columbiform. Do any zoos currently manage this species?

I have no idea unfortunately but I would be interested to know whether there are plans for this.

Today I think no zoos are keeping them and there are none kept ex-situ within Samoa which is very worrying as the population is certainly not believed to be more than 400 individuals.

In the past there were apparently tooth billed pigeons kept by zoos in New Zealand and Australia and possibly the USA.

This is what I meant when I suggested the irony of talking about species like the dodo in a zoo to Cheese chameleon.

Here we have a still extant largely ground dwelling columbiform facing exactly the same threats as the dodo of overexploitation,habitat loss, and even the same set of invasive species (pigs, rats, cats and dogs) yet no ex-situ insurance population.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I know, Its just-Everyone on the site has such a strong passion for animals, I just feel like I always get excited for every single animal in the world, and everyone else just shrugs it off.
Fine, Just look at everything without excitement.
Fine, just be fix-minded.
Fine, just be realistic.
geez, I wonder if there's even real people on this site lol.
They simply don't get excited for anything lol.

Calm down...and stop taking it personally.

As I said, it is great to talk about "what ifs" and hypothetical thought experiments but I wanted to inject a bit of harsh reality into the thread about still extant species of columbiformes that will go the way of the dodo as I believe that this is pertinent to the topic.

 

[CheeseChameleon1945]

Calm down...and stop taking it personally.

As I said, it is great to talk about "what ifs" and hypothetical thought experiments but I wanted to inject a bit of harsh reality into the thread about still extant species of columbiformes that will go the way of the dodo.

Then I'll unwatch the thread. Let you just carry on with everyone else.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Then I'll unwatch the thread. Let you just carry on with everyone else.

Luke, I believe we have talked about this before on the subject of invasive cats and the impact of these on biodiversity.

I am talking dispassionately and scientifically about the subject of species extinctions and impending extinctions on a thread where you asked people for their opinions on this matter and you should not be taking this personally.

 

[Westcoastperson]

Then I'll unwatch the thread. Let you just carry on with everyone else.

no don't do that he was just shedding light on an important subject

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Then I'll unwatch the thread. Let you just carry on with everyone else.

When I said "lol" it was an ironic response to your comment "I feel like some people on this forum don't quite get how awesome biodiversity is.".

Because I do think it is ironic that you were questioning whether people like me "get" how awesome biodiversity is when it is actually my profession and vocation to conserve it.

Can you see what happened there and why that happened ?

I'm not knocking you or your thread nor your enthusiasm I was just being ironic to that particular comment.

With the rest I was talking about the current context of impending species extinctions because the tooth billed dodo is pertinent to the discussion considering how closely related it is to the dodo and how close it is to extinction.

 

[birdsandbats]

Worth remembering two of those species went extinct in captivity... under modern standards the parakeet I feel may have made it. The pigeon I feel would have struggled breeding successfully, given that breaking up of the enormous colonies seemed to be a major part of its downfall.

Carolina Parakeets were popular pets in Europe for a time, at one point there was even a feral population in Germany that was eventually exterminated.

Passenger Pigeons actually bred quite well in captivity, there were several breeding records in European zoos.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Then I'll unwatch the thread. Let you just carry on with everyone else.

With the dodo we cannot turn back the proverbial clock we can just entertain thoughts of turning it back.

With the tooth billed pigeon as the clock currently stands we are lucky if we have 5 minutes before midnight to avert its extinction but even if it is running out there is still time yet.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Carolina Parakeets were popular pets in Europe for a time, at one point there was even a feral population in Germany that was eventually exterminated.

That is incredible ! I never knew about a feral population of this bird in Europe, mindblowing.

 

[imaginarius]

I think most could probably be saved, with modern husbandry techniques, breeding technologies, and the like. The issue is that most went extinct before the world at-large (read: western society) even knew they existed. Imagine if we could have saved the elephant bird!