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. ...

"Obviously, gaining public acceptance is going to be a huge issue, especially when you talk about reintroducing predators," said lead author Josh Donlan, of Cornell University. "There are going to have to be some major attitude shifts. That includes realising predation is a natural role, and that people are going to have to take precautions."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4160560.stm

8/22/2005 7:49:01 AM

there's a reason they're not here...

8/22/2005 7:53:18 AM

great, the next time i go to the plains area, i could die from a cheetah attack.

8/22/2005 7:55:14 AM

wow.

i mean, the private land owners might have a problem with this.

oh wait, the supreme court ruled against them.

this country is fucked.

8/22/2005 8:57:19 AM

I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA!!

8/22/2005 9:09:02 AM

in principal, this is a nice idea

in reality, it isn't.

if it makes you feel any better, they're talking about putting them in cordoned-off areas, not just setting them free on the plains.

here's their website
http://rewilding.org/mission.html

[Edited on August 22, 2005 at 9:34 AM. Reason : .]

8/22/2005 9:32:32 AM

what a stupid idea

8/22/2005 9:42:55 AM

Well, the bison will be fucked

again

8/22/2005 9:50:46 AM

there is a reason these animals are not native to this area

hell elephants kill 3 people a week in bangladesh

i hate people so much

8/22/2005 9:53:31 AM

I'm sure there are many problems with this, but the one that stands out in my mind is that these animals, if introduced here, will have no natural competition. There's nothing in this country besides people that will kill, say, lions or whatnot, but lions will have no problem taking down, say, a deer or a rabbit, and so I imagine that you're going to see lion populations grow out of control if you put them here.

8/22/2005 10:10:02 AM

thats why i said the bison were gonna be fucked

the only predator i can think of for lions in africa however, are hyenas and it takes quite a few of them to take down one lion

So if you think about it, they really have no natural predators in their natural habitat either, but their population isnt taking off, mainly because of poaching, and I thinki poaching would be a problem here too.

So I say just leave them in Africa and the zoos.

8/22/2005 10:13:33 AM

Can we get some rhinos too?

8/22/2005 10:23:03 AM

i saw this last week, surprised it took this long to get up

all i have to say is

LESS ELEPHANTS AND LIONS

MORE CLONED DINOSAURS


i mean, if you're gonna introduce a non-native animal, let's go all out

[Edited on August 22, 2005 at 10:31 AM. Reason : p.s. FREE THE MAMMOTH]

8/22/2005 10:30:52 AM

kudzu was non-native and look at the shit

if you watch it, you can actually see it grow

8/22/2005 10:33:12 AM

if you watch itif you're really stoned, you can actually see it grow

8/22/2005 10:46:45 AM

^^^ My first thought was that this was like a really low rent Jurassic Park.

8/22/2005 11:03:49 AM

Why not focus on reintroducing NATIVE endangered megafauna? Like returning wolves to the northeast.

I can maybe understand cheetahs and elephants, but CAMELS and LIONS are a bad idea. The last time camels were introduced to a new continent, they started wreaking havoc on the ecosystem (Austrailia). Plus, they're not even endangered so whats the point?

And lions...thats just insane.

8/22/2005 11:29:32 AM

well, if you read the article, they do say that animals like camels and those they want to reintroduce WERE native to the plains, until people showed up. that doesn't make this a good idea, but it makes it a little less weird.

8/22/2005 11:35:01 AM

Take a look at what a simlpe rabbit did to Australia. Also, there was an article that came up about a week ago that showed how the fostering of the moose population by removing some of its natural predators and other general protection measures has resulted in the dramatic decline of beavers, birds, and some other pertinent animal. Apparently the moose have such free reign that their enormous appetite goes unchecked and they are taking all of the food and materials that are needed by the animals. Humans are incredibly inept at "preserving nature". Hell, nature doesn't preserve nature so why should we try? Things have been dying out and going through cyclic patterns forever. Its like not allowing any forest fires at all... not quite the results people expect.

8/22/2005 12:26:24 PM

^ bingo

you dont fucking preserve nature, there is nothing to preserve. Its in constant chage. The best we can 'do' is leave it the fuck alone. We are far to ignorant and unable to actualy keep nature the same or conserve it properly anyways.

8/22/2005 12:38:52 PM

Don't worry, rednecks will travel out there and hunt them back into extinction.

You know, maybe we need more predators, think of how overrun we are with deer...but I think BIG predators are a bad idea. We need more cute ones, like bobcats and lynx.

8/22/2005 12:45:45 PM

this is a stupid idea

8/22/2005 1:12:09 PM

I would rather have another buffalo range out west.

8/22/2005 1:13:50 PM

Anyone been to Disney's Animal Kingdom lately?

I think that should suffice.

8/22/2005 2:35:55 PM

Kenya believe it?

8/22/2005 4:34:24 PM

Quote :

"I can maybe understand cheetahs and elephants, but CAMELS and LIONS are a bad idea."

Wait....you can accept a cheetah, but a camel is over the line? Someone needs to put that Simpsons pic up of the elephant with the bear in its mouth.

8/22/2005 10:51:17 PM

I think this is a wonderful idea, and the reason is this:

if I got eaten by a goddamn lion here in the United States, that would make me totally awesome.

8/22/2005 11:32:01 PM

8/22/2005 11:44:05 PM

threads like this are why i'll never quit TWW

8/22/2005 11:52:54 PM

Quote :

"Wait....you can accept a cheetah, but a camel is over the line? Someone needs to put that Simpsons pic up of the elephant with the bear in its mouth."

Indeed. Do you even have a clue?

8/22/2005 11:53:40 PM

bull camels are the 5th most aggressive bull animals in nature

8/23/2005 12:10:08 AM

Fuck that, put the wolf back. At least they are more recently natural.

Shit thats like saying "Well dinosaurs WERE here, before that damn rock". Great but they have no interaction ability with our current ecosystem and creatures were have now. Just like tigers and shit would be absolutely fuck over deer and all other smaller creatures, a damn V-Rap pack has no business being introduced into our parks or anything like that. They may have been here once, but nature is doing alright without them being here.

Seriously, you wanna support a predator, bring back the wolf. Don't give them even more shit to compete with.

8/23/2005 2:36:43 AM

though again, I DON'T agree with this idea, I think you're overstating that.

They're not going to drop like 2000 lions into the plains, ok. Firstly, it will likely be a closed off area. Secondly, I doubt there will be alot of lions out there, and certainly not enough to "fuck over" any entire species. Maybe enough to keep them under control.

the way predators help natura selection is that they usually grab the weakest or sickly or older animals in the herd, so that the stronger ones have more ability to pass on their genes. a few predators is good for the species.

these people aren't stupid. they might be thinking too scientifically and not realistically enough, but they aren't stupid.

[Edited on August 23, 2005 at 7:08 AM. Reason : .]

8/23/2005 7:07:29 AM

Quote :

"and certainly not enough to "fuck over" any entire species. Maybe enough to keep them under control."

even the best scientists cant know this ratio for sure
its likely to blow up in their face as messing with nature often does

8/23/2005 7:33:47 AM

^^ you extremely over estimate our knowledge and ability to keep something like that in check

8/23/2005 8:01:16 AM

Well, he does have one point... If it starts to go wrong, just anounce "hunting season of African Lions is now OPEN!" Or, if that doesn't work, "$50 for every carcass recovered!" With modern hunting techniques, I'm sure they can take care of an neusance big-game animal.

Of course, after the initial introduction, the first news headline will be "an Elephant attempting to cross I-20 caused a 40 car pileup, leaving 8 dead and 42 injured. The elephant was unharmed."

Last I heard, Elephants are often able to get through most fences simply by leaning on them until they collapse. So we are going to see these animals showing up on our highways and railways. Maybe even a runway!

[Edited on August 23, 2005 at 8:35 AM. Reason : .]

8/23/2005 8:33:50 AM

Quote :

"i could die from a cheetah attack."

Find one example where a human has ever been killed by a cheetah attack in the wild.

8/23/2005 8:37:51 AM

He's comin' right for us!

8/23/2005 9:02:56 AM

Have any of you considered that every single "downside" you mention is, in fact, TOTALLY AWESOME?!?

ELEPHANT ATTACKS? AWESOME!

CHASED BY CHEETAS? AWESOME!

HUNTING LIONS? AWESOME!!!

8/23/2005 9:26:56 AM

teddy roosevelt is weeping in his grave

WE COULD HAVE DONE THIS WHEN I WAS AROUND FOLKS

8/23/2005 10:37:17 AM

come on now, you hucklebucks love to shoot things

I can't see why you guys are complaining about more animals you can hunt

8/23/2005 10:38:33 AM

Because more than likely they won't be huntable. At least hopefully not.

8/23/2005 10:47:26 AM

"Last I heard, Elephants are often able to get through most fences simply by leaning on them until they collapse. So we are going to see these animals showing up on our highways and railways. Maybe even a runway!"

Last I heard, we have tons of elephants in zoos around here that don't seem to be leaning on their fences every day and escaping. I am sure they would use the same type of encolusure...

8/23/2005 11:32:06 AM

Cheetahs are small, timid creatures. Their natural defense is to run. They dont growl or roar, they CHIRP. A raccoon could kick a cheetah's ass. Of the species mentioned, they would probably pose the smallest threat to humans.

8/23/2005 3:34:10 PM

We need natural selection for humans. We have too many medicines. The Pharmaceutical companies are doing their best to weed out the poor, but we need to focus on weeding out the stupid too.

8/23/2005 3:41:21 PM

VARMINTS!

8/23/2005 4:13:21 PM