Bringing back the Woolly Mammoth

[Catherine]

Science has now reached a point where it is possible to bring back some species. Wooly Mammoths if they were brought back would live in the Canadian arctic region. We have the room and it can be argued that they may fit a niche that was lost and do much to protect the arctic.

I have to say up front, I am in favour or bringing back species. Woolly Mammoths went extinct within the human species memory. I know there are ethical issues and fears and it needs to be done cautiously. But just the thought that we could see wooly mammoths again  brings tears to my eyes.

I think some things we have an obligation to bring back if we can. We owe it to Martha the last passenger pigeon, who held on to life long after her species was gone, to bring them back in her name.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=2&at=dt0

We have been willing to destroy species with our progress. Why shouldn't we use that progress to bring back species.

We will resolve the ethical issues and the problems that same as we have resolved a great many other issues.

Jurassic Park?
It was a movie where they did everything wrong and created chaos. It was fun to watch and for a dinosaur lover a real treat.
However if they are ever able to bring back dinosaurs and actually create Jurassic park they would be  much more professional about it.
When they open the theme park, I am going. There are not a lot of "dream vacations" that interest me, but this one I wouldn't miss.

[Tobi]

Wow! That would be amazing!
However, re-introducing a species, long extinct....how would that affect the eco-system, as it has evolved since they went extinct? I suppose the scientists can investigate that....or will very thoroughly, before re-creating the Woolly Mammoth? Or any other species like the sabre-toothed tiger, etc.
It is a long time since they walked the Earth, and things have changed a lot since then.

I am of the opinion that just because we can....doesn't always necessarily mean we should.

[Catherine]

The thing is, it has not been that long since woolly mammoths roamed the Canadian Arctic. It has only been thousands of years and in the history of the earth, that is nothing.

The article did point out that the mammoths may have been essential to the health of the arctic and bringing them back might make things more stable. Think of the video we watched about the effects of reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park in the USA.  The wolves healed the ecology and made it more robust.

They have reintroduced buffalo to the Banff area of the Canadian Rockies. That area has suffered a lot of ecological damage. They are hoping the buffalo will help restore things.
Restoring Black Footed Ferrets to the prairies of western Canada is having a positive effect ecologically.

Maybe woolly mammoths are what the arctic needs. There would not be large herds of them. I don't think their numbers were large, but they would have impact.

If we can do this then there may be others situations where bringing back a species is very important.

We had Trumpeter Swans in Ontario. The last one was killed a long time ago. We brought in some of the same species from another part of the country. The reintroduction has gone well. They are gradually spreading out from the release points and the numbers are multiplying. This will help restore an ecological balance.

We would be introducing the Woolly Mammoth from a much greater distance. We would be bringing them back from the past. If we can do it we should. I would love to see a herd of mammoths roaming the arctic.