Re: Bringing Back Mammoths (was Dinosaur Mating Displays)

[Raptorial Talon <raptorialtalon@gmail.com>]

Here's a thought regarding the conservation aspect.

What if introducing mammoths back to the steppe were to create a
healthier, potentially more diverse ecosystem? What if the ecological
activity of the mammoths were to produce a richer habitat that could
do a better job of supporting certain currently threatened/endangered
species?

Not arguing it one way or another here - just an interesting question
that came to mind. I'm not sure how many rare species are even in the
part of the world where reintroduction might work.

That said, being able to study a living, behaving member of a species
that was extinct before written records has to be considered a major
scientific opportunity. And since the critters didn't die out an
extra-long time ago, the world can probably still support them easily
enough - again, hypothetically. As for learned behavior, maybe they
could be "trained" by modern elephants. Which would skew any atttempt
to anaylze their original, wild behavior, but eh . . .

The welfare of the animals is an important consideration, as is
exactly where the funding comes from (maybe they'll have to
genetically produce a bioluminescent ad for Pepsi or Budweiser in its
hide), but otherwise I tend to lean towards a "yes" on the cloning
question.