Attempting De-Extinction
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- Опубликовано: 21 апр 2024
- There's a group trying to save the functionally extinct northern white rhino using in vitro fertilization. But the ethics around using assisted reproductive technologies to save endangered animals are far from simple.
Hosted by: Jessi Knudsen Castañeda (she/her/they/them)
Should We Save Northern White Rhinos?
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Another problem too is; who is going to teach these northern white rhinos to BE northern white rhinos? It is a problem more pronounced in elephants; where having all the old males be poached leaves the younger generation of males without someone to teach them how to be an elephant. Maybe the problem isn't as pronounced in rhinos; but it is another angle to consider.
I'd say rhinos might be less affected by this on virtue of being less gregarious? i'm just guessing here, i'm no rhino pro, but complex social structures such as what elephants show need to be taught, ,at least partially, whereas grazing, repoductive behaviours or even general navigation through the land will be partially innate. I do know that mother rhinos keep their young with them for a while, but is it to teach them how to rhino, or to make sure a predator doesn't stop them from "rhino-ing" ?
But i agree, i think trying this with nothing planned on a highly social animal might lead to big problems for that population.
True, animals have culture so without others to teach them, they may genetically be the same species but culturally they would be something new and unpredictable.
Genetics. Simple house cats don't need to be trained to be cats. They are cats
@@wesleyquere4979 if the northern white rhinos are raised in the southern white rhino herds, won’t they just interbreed?
@@organicgroove23 Cats aren't really comparable to elephants in this regard, part of what the OP is referencing is that the remaining male elephants are kind of a menace to themselves, other elephants, animals, the landscape, and people that share their space. Mainly because there are not enough older ones around anymore to teach the younger ones to properly behave and socialize. Unlike cats, elephants have generational memories for behavior, locations, and friends and family, most focus is on the female groups, but this is also important in the males.
That said, I don't know how rhinos compare to elephants at all, it might just be that being a rhino is enough to know how to be a rhino, it might be that it's not. Need to ask a rhino expert for that.
The hybrid calf: is it fertile? How much have these two species differentiated? I wonder if a better approach might be mixing the northern rhino samples into the extant southern herd to increase the genetic diversity of the whole group, rather than create another bottleneck situation.
It's the same species so not even a hybrid calf. They are just from different areas and the genetic markers for them are almost identical
The calf is genetically 100 percent northern. Only the surrogate is southern. So it's not a hybrid and it will be sterile.
@@wihatmi5510They're talking about the hybrid calf mentioned at 4:18. And why do you think a future 100% northern white rhino calf would be sterile?
@wihatmi5510 why would it be sterile if its not a hybrid?
@@CrownofMischieftypo?
I wonder how long it took the rhino to get diagnosed with endometriosis. It often takes humans well over 10 years even while knowing they have it.
I had the same thought! My doc told me there was no conclusive evidence that endometriosis exists. Weird but not surprising that the medical profession takes rhinos more seriously than women. 😆
(But also, poor sweet rhino. I hope they're doing everything to help her manage it.)
@@raggedyanarchist to be fair, if you were one of the last two women alive, i imagine doctors would be *pretty* interested in monitoring the health of your reproductive system haha. (not to downplay your experience or anything, i just mean that's probably how and why they caught it so early in this rhino)
To be fair, I don't think that vets are as good at gaslighting rhinos as doctors are at gaslighting humans
It could also be that the symptoms in the rhino were much more pronounced than the average case in a human woman
@@PK1312 One of the last two women alive, or, like... any dude.
Really weird watching Jessi bring the serious energy rather than the kids show energy. Glad to see her role increasing though, great presenter!
Welcome back from Animal Wonders Montana Jessi. Don't remember Jessi over here on the main SciShow since before C-19.
This is a fantastic summary of all the big relevant issues with severely endangered species. Not just from a genetics angle, but from actually adressing the systematic issues that caused the near-extinction in the first place, looking towards the sources of problems instead of just trying to fix problems after they've already happened. Thank you sci show!
The last point seems kinda odd to me.
If we bring them back but don't do enough to address poaching, they *could* go extinct...
But if we don't bring them back then they *will* go extinct, even if we end poaching tomorrow.
I think the point is should they spend resources, time, etc. to save the species if we are not going to address the poaching aspect that lead to this issue. Trying to say if we go down this path it needs follow through and we can't half-ass it.
I think another point is that we have these resources now. But if we spend it on this chance we may not have those resources ever again. Without fixing the poaching problem, we could lose them forever and not have this chance again.
You do realise they'll be kept and bred in captivity for decade before any reintroduction is done right ?
I think that there is no reason to bring them back. Just to have them destroyed by poachers. I think bad people only (hopefully) learn(they never learn. Time is a flat circle.). By having what they want taken away from them. If we even imply that there is a work around. Then their mental defenses of consequences will forever reinforce that what they do is okay.
@@MysteicVoltronuswhat’s the point of any kind of ecological and biotopes conservation then ? We cannot tackle subject only because they affect us, and even then poaching affect us
If preserving them includes preserving their range and protect them from poachers, it would be worth it but more efforts need to go to protecting all species that are still here.
Among these "whether we should" questions is also about the rhino's impact on the wider ecosystem. More specifically, are they a keystone species or not? Because if they are and they're left to die out, it's not _just_ that rhino population that has been devastated.
While not touched on here, another point is whether limited conservation funding should be spent on large charismatic species (eg, pandas, a rhino subspecies) when many other entire ecosystems or less charismatic, but highly important, species are at risk but get much less money. As an entomologist I'd be thrilled to have a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the funding put into saving these big mammals. I think all species are worth saving, but unless humankind miraculously agrees conservation is a high priority and gives us more funding, there are ethical considerations about which species or systems get the most money poured into their protection. More of that thought process needs to be the ecological ramifications of losing that species rather than how cute, cuddly, well-known it is, i.e., favoring mammals most of the time. We really need more funding if we want to give attention to all species, particularly the ones from highly unique evolutionary lineages or that play keystone roles in ecosystems. The last point she makes is a huge one - we need to address core problems of habitat loss & degradation, or those species won't last long once reintroduced. That's where more conservation funding needs to come in, to restore and protect the habitats, work with local communities to foster support and facilitate the community taking part in protecting their natural heritage, and get legislature passed to ban or reduce harmful practices that continue to contribute to habitat destruction. With such limited funding, putting it into a process that then fails because we didnt address the core threats is devastating. Ideally conservation is implemented primarily at the ecosystem level and only when needed at the species level; this preserves the natural processes, species interactions, and land they occur on, and protects the many many species we do not know enough about to protect, do not know are there, and do not have any public awareness or support. We try to get around limited funding by trying to use charismatic species as umbrellas for saving their whole habitats and thus all the species in them.
preserving the ecosystems of charismatic megafauna normally provides a healthy protective ecosystem for the thousands of less eye catching but just a important plant and animal species that live in the same regions as these more charismatic megafauna - a great example is the Maned Wolf and the Wolf Apple
Awesome to see her on here not just sci show kids!
Ethical questions are very important when discussing these technological "fixes" to man made problems. From "should we use IVF to produce northern rhinos?" to "should we put all our climate efforts into carbon capture?" it feels like more energy and money go into after the fact fixes instead of addressing causes.
We need to reverse what we've done, it isn't just a question of we should learn our lessons the hard way it's that our world right now it's hurting at all points and something should be done!
I see the same thing in discussions on ending homelessness. The purposed solutions also tend to be for people after they become homeless. We need to think of ways to prevent people from becoming homeless.
People want simple solutions to complex problems, but the world doesn't work that way.
Exactly,all we need to do is stop poaching clumps of stinky compressed hair off them!!
Though equally the damage has already been done, the least we can do is try and fix it because it's past the point of prevention now
Thank you for illustrating the larger scope of this problem. Heartbreaking all around.
Love seeing Jessi here, showing her knowledge, as well as the excellent Sci Show team (research, writing, sound, etc!) I enjoy your work very much.
I've recently watched a zookeeper and the White rhino they have at the zoo play with each other like he was a puppy. It snorted and sorta hopped kicked and ran about every time he peaked around a corner, then they'd come up to the barrier between them and he'd nuzzle his hand for some skritches around the pointy boop and they'd do it again..
We are fortunate to have a rescue for these animals, it has a shady past like all zoos do if they're being honest. But it started local and out of a need to conserve. And the pivot they've made over the years to education and proper enclosures. Makes me want to hop around like a happy rhino.
And if you're all, the animals are always just lying around or I never see them.. go in the early morning and not in the middle of the day when it's all warm. Over the decades I've been going they've come light years in the way they are.
Fun fact. The name white rhino has nothing to do with the animal's color. It comes from the afrikanns word "wyd" that means "wide", and refers to the animal's wide square mouth. the word was misinterpreted by early english settlers as "white".
I think if we are largely responsible for something dying off then we should try to bring them back. As for protecting them, keep them in zoos until it's safe to release them, that means among other things, paying people to keep them safe from poachers while educating people so they don't even want their horns.
by largely you mean that we're are completely and totally 100% responsable for that
I don't know that this is a good plan. If there are only two left, who will teach the IVF generation how to be proper Nothern White Rhinos? The babies won't have parents of their own species. They won't learn the correct mating dances, distress calls, aggressive stances, etc. If we do this, I don't see them getting released into the wild like... EVER. So is that worth all the effort? There are plenty of other species who could use the money and time and resources. Is this really our best bet?
Wow. This was almost certainly the best SciShow video I have *_ever_* seen. And I think the reason is that the presenter didn't just appear to be a talking head reading a script. For whatever reason, she seemed to really _know_ her stuff. This was great.
Since we are the reason it's gotten to this point, from overhunting to poaching to habitat destruction, it seems we should be honor-bound to fix what we effed up. Then again, what about the other hundred species a year we drive to extinction? I feel we are also honor-bound to stop the disappearances of those species, TOO.
This is the true crux of the question. It seems pretty unlikely that the Northern White Rhino will be able to come back, even if we pour all our effort and resources into this project. And even if it does stabilize, will we ever be able to release them into the wild? I doubt it. It seems to me that we'd be better using the time and money and other resources to fix the problems causing extinctions for other animals (like poaching!) or to bring back several different species that are just past that bottleneck point.
Speaking more generally about Rhinos, there was a plan conserve them by actually farming (ranching) them for meat AND [horn]. the idea being that, much like the wide and cheap availability of bull horn, farmed rhinos could be strategically released into the wild once the price of [horn] tanks due to availability, essentially removing the motivation for poaching
But rhino horns are not ivory. They are keratin the same as human fingernails.
@@roger6867 I misspoke, but that changes nothing of my point ☺ I'll edit
Why does an animal need to have a use for humans to stay alive
@@jascha8681 Actually, it's this animal's use to humans that is killing it.
Being useful to humans, or an obstacle to our goals, is the ultimate curse for an animal: either being domesticated to the point that nearly none exist in the wild like cattle were once, or harvested to extinction b/c they're worth money, like beavers and Rhinos.
The proposal to farm them leverages human evil to at least save the species from extinction. it's the best of a bad situation...
I think the solution is a pretty simple one.
Yes save the rhinos.
But also add more funding to protection efforts too. Poaching is a human mistake, and it should be one fixed. Regardless of if you save the rhinos to have them poached again, what do you think will happen to other animals in the future? Once the rhinos are gone they'll move onto the next lucrative thing. Which could be alligator skin or lion pelts for all we know.
We want to be conservationists to animals? Then we have to not just keep them around, but keep them safe too.
"But how can we protect them from poachers"
First off, disarm them. Most poachers are in places where hunting weapons such as rifles and tranquilizers are easy to obtain. Remove the ability to purchase or acquire them and it'll severely hinder them.
Lock down areas where black market exchange is easy to pass through and it'll double down.
Second, surveillance. A lot of wildlife conservations have surveillance but it's obviously not enough. There needs to be a form of monitoring that can cover entire grounds. I propose a satellite based surveillance system that can monitor entire fields. We have the ability to take satellite pictures and videos for mapping and GPS but we can't use it as monitoring to aid conservative efforts?
We could also have intrusion detection implemented alongside it. A system that detects if someone wearing a specific tag enters and is cleared to be there, whereas someone who isn't allowed to be in that wildlife sanctuary would alert the system.
There you go 2 things we can already do to help protect wildlife from poachers. A lot of people assume we already do these things, but we really don't. We have weak half-assed forms of them.
We caused these problems, its time we do eveything we can to try and fix it. And we''ll learn a lot along the way
I went to a zoo in Thailand where they had the most amazingly gentle and tame rhinos. Seriously… it was so friendly they literally let anyone interact with it. It blows my mind when they open their mouth and you see such huge teeth on such a gentle and friendly animal. Total opposite of a hippo. FWIW, the giraffes were also surprisingly tame and docile but they never struck me as aggressive like a horned animal.
There are a couple of zoo shows about American zoos and conservation efforts. When rhinos are on screen many of the keepers say they're like big puppy dogs, curious and friendly!
@@LAWL95 That’s exactly the impression I got! It was like a puppy inside a buffalo’s body. :)
Hi Jessi! Great to see you back over here too.
Jessi was the perfect host for this episode. I follow Animal Wonders, and it's visible how much she cares for animals, and is worried about them living their own best lives
What a wonderful host! (Jessi Knudsen Castañeda). Love her voice, and her clear presentation. No rushing, but not to slow. Very pleasant to watch!
Oh it's so nice to see Jessi again! I've always liked how passionate she is about animals.
Of course, this should be done. Not only could the Northern White Rhinos be saved, but the knowledge gained would help with saving other endangered species. Furthermore, the newly-revived rhinos would not have to be released to the wild right away. There are plenty of zoological gardens and game parks--look at all the ones in Texas--where they could be kept until their old territories were secure enough that they could be reintroduced into them. The objections to this happening remind me of the ones that purists made who opposed rescuing the California Condor and wanted to just let it go extinct. Even before I saw the condors' sailing in the sky above the Grand Canyon in Arizona, I knew that these people were destructive idiots, and viewing the condors in the air just confirmed that knowledge.
Related to that, I recall decades ago reading about the captive breeding efforts for the condors, and how the fences they had at the facilities were so impassable not to keep the birds in but to keep people who wanted to "mercy kill" the condors out.
I sympathize, and ideally these rhinos wouldn’t have to suffer for our actions, but it’s rarely so simple. Poaching is unlikely to go away (or even be properly addressed) for some time, the ecology of the area is going to adapt in the rhino’s absence so we’ll risk destabilizing with reintroduction, and all of the moral justifications we could point to won’t pay bills.
I’ll advocate with you it’s our responsibility to do all we can, but it’s pointless to start rebuilding your house when the kitchen is still on fire.
@@Leaky_Spigot when has a habitat ever destabilized from reintroducing a native animal? Reintroduction has been done many times, sometimes in places where an animal has been gone for over a century.
@@Ryodraco Admittedly, I made that claim with relevant-weak supporting evidence, it really is more speculation than fact, which is not how I presented it. Apologies.
To explain/justify why, I considered the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone. They had major impacts (primarily positive though) in the ecosystem. My reasoning was that if reproduction can have such drastic changes in a perceived positive direction, the opposite is likely true. (Keeping in mind that perspective is key for determining positive/negative.)
Always a treat to see Jessi hosting Sci Show!
JESSI!! welcome back
She is such a wonderful presenter. Glad to see her beyond the kids’ show setting. Wonderfully interesting topic, as well. And there is my offering to the almighty algorithm!
Even if we only have a few captive white rhinos at least they are here! Once they are gone it’s much harder or impossible to bring them back. If we can keep a few alive to learn from it’s still worth it.
Yes it is. Lets do it.
Yes
YES!!!! Jessi doing SciShow!
We need to save the great white rhino. Where else is Ace Ventura gonna hang out?!
I think we should focus on conservation and ending poaching first.
Seems more viable than bringing back the Woolly mammoth though.
We can do both at the same time.... the money for one is not exclusive as the money for the other... infact prompting this reproductive technology and successfully reviving the NWR species would be fantastic educ-advertising for the anti-poaching efforts
Having an entire video of portraits to choose from you went with that one for the thumbnail...👏
Jessi on Scishow Prime? Yes, please!
One could potentially induce mutations in some embryos (also via CRISPR, if one wishes to do so, but also untargeted) to reduce bottleneck effect in future generations
Thanks good Lady
Rhinos are amazing awesome creatures and we should try to save them.
Masterpiece theatre with Jessi, wonderful
Yes we should
WELCOME BACK!!!!
Of course, I'll watch the video now.
Query... where would resources be taken away from to do this? That is also an aspect of such intense investments.
From nowhere
It doesn't take money from other conservation project.
It doesn't hurt anyone
@@deinsilverdrac8695 But if we have the money and other resources to do all this, wouldn't it be better spent towards a species that isn't this close to extinction? We could save multiple species that are just below the population required to come back with the same amount of effort as it would take to get just this one at a point where they **might* make it.
@@animeartist888 could we? Resources are not necessarily transferable to other situations. It seems like a hypothetical when every conservation situation is different.
I love her channel !
There is nothing to lose. Better we get the rhino back with some risks than losing it forever. Even if there might be genetic problems. We might fix them in the future. Even if poaches will kill them. We will still at least have some animals in zoos that have a chance to rewild later. But if we don't use this last chance this species will be lost forever. So let's do everything in our power to keep the species alive.
Hi Jessi!
Fascinating video! It's terrible that we have to resort to IVF to preserve a species that we've caused their near- extinction. 😢
Something I haven't seen considered much in this particular case is the question of what exactly we're losing: that's two individuals of a SUBSPECIES. On a biological level they might be different enough but ecologically they likely serve the same function as the southern white rhinoceros.
In some cases subspecies are more highly adapted to a specific environment but if we cannot protect those environments from turning into different landscapes that possibly the other subspecies would thrive in, there is a case to be made for introducing the southern subspecies to inhabit Africa north of Congo.
I see this case more as an experimentation but not particularly one that shows the best, remorseful side of humanity. Before they were the last two, there were a few dozen, before that some hundreds, and the alarm bells didn't ring loudly enough. Most of human societies have inherited the colonial, capitalist drive to take, exploit and destroy life and this right to exist before other species lies at the core of most conservation problems.
It's funny how we wouldn't need to go through all this trouble if only we know how to control our greed.
Hi I'm 18 and I want to study ecology and conservation after I graduate high school at the end of this year. Thanks for the video very interesting and also applicable to the ongoing efforts of de extinction of several species.
I heard about this when my family did a tour of the San Diego Safari Parks as they have some of the rhino's they plan to use
Why not divert all the efforts to prevent the currently existing biodiversity left from getting to this stage??
We kinda already are? I mean not these people, but most others are doing that.
@@theenceladuschannelcool5777 It's always weird when people think of scientists as a collective rather than separate groups. Just because one group is working on something doesn't mean work stops elsewhere
@@CrownofMischief are you talking about me or them?
@@theenceladuschannelcool5777 them, I'm agreeing with you
@CrownofMischief don't you know all Scientist are hive mind. They can't work in separate fields.
You forgot to mention your excellent channel Animal Wonders Montana! 😊
Animal Wonders Montana!
We already messed with their livelihood big time. Helping them survive by any means should be a no brainer.
I understand the moral reasoning behind this, but I don’t think that’s all should be considered. “We” messed up. Unfortunately, that species paid the price, but if we don’t put effort into preventing the root cause of the problem, we’re only going to repeat it. Put out the fire before trying to rebuild, so to speak.
We definitely should, no question asked. Incredibly valuable to have species even with a bottleneck
Yes… if it’s the fault of humans that these beautiful creatures are hunted to death then yes, save them.
It would seem we should care what kind of lives the members of this species would have if we do.
Not all humans.
Beautifully said, we have to take accountability.
This kind of knowledge is going to be vital in the future. It's going to be an essential part of our stewardship of this planet and the cosmos beyond it.
For one second, I thought I was watching Scishow Kids. I was about to call my kids saying there is a new episode.
Jesse! so good to see her
There's two more important questions, imo, that weren't brought up in this video:
-Should species that went extinct for reasons other than human interference be brought back or saved in this way? After all, they failed evolutionary.
-If not, then how do we even figure out whether human interference played a part? Habitats could change because of climate change, but they could also change naturally. Species might be overhunted by other animals because those animals are staying away from humans, or they might just not be capable of escaping the hunters. A disease might be introduced through human movements, or it might just appear by chance.
One question that never comes up with these hypothetical scenarios. How many generations do you have until you start seeing dangerous levels of inbreeding? Most of these animals are going to be siblings, and with a herd of just a dozen animals you have only so many generations before incest becomes wholly unavailable. Especially if, again, most of those animals are already related to at least one other individual. There’s a serious risk of fatal developmental disorders.
I ❤ Jessi. She's awesome!
Some people have really cool names.
The safest way to protect them from poaching is to have them in captivity. But then, does that count as ‘reviving’ or ‘rescuing’ the species?
I wish someone would do this with the Vaquita.😢
Yes. We need to try at the very least.
When thinking about the ethics of reviving an extinct species (or conservation efforts that rely on captive breeding in general), I think it is also vitally important to think about the well-being of the individual animals that will live in captivity their entire lives serving to boost the genetic pool (and possibly provide an avenue for education).
In my opinion, the best life for a wild animal is the wild, assuming they have the ability to survive. Captive breeding programs rely on a proportionally large number of individuals never experiencing true freedom or a stable life, depending on the species.
I bring this up because it is a topic of debate in the wolf conservation community. I work for an organization that participates in federal captive breeding programs for American red wolves and Mexican wolves. Our position as an organization is essentially the same as my own: we will only participate in these programs so as long as efforts are being made to reintroduce animals to the wild; otherwise, why are we breeding these animals? Not only will the vast majority live their lives in cages, but animals are moved frequently-for space, to match with a different animal for a breeding season because it’s what the population needs genetically, for companionship for another animal (for however long), etc., When it comes to wolves, in particular, we have to consider the cost of setting animals up to bond and start a family/pack only to tear them apart later-what effect does this have on their social/mental/emotional health? Not to mention, during the breeding season, paired animals that are not supposed to breed must be separated which causes immense stress on its own.
On top of the individual cost, does the animal we are “bringing back” have a habitat to come back to? This is a bigger question when debating the ethics of bringing back fully-extinct species like mammoths. Between climate change and introduced species, many habitats are changing at a rapid rate that may make it impossible for a reintroduced species to survive.
I think we should give it a try. It's the least that we can do considering we're the ones that brought them to the absolute brink of extinction.
Do the best you , good vets doctors, scientists , man hunted rhino to extinction for fun, Man owes rhinoceri apologies and help
I recall reading about the death of the last male Northern White Rhino, effectively making the species Functionally Extinct. Mom found me sobbing over the newspaper, still open to the article.
My instant reaction is ‘yes, let’s save them!’ But… I can see the other side. If we don’t fix the problem, how can we save them?
If you bring them back it makes the ones that got poached basically worthless. They were only valuable because they are so rare. The people that own them won't let them get cloned or brought back in any way.
Do such A video on Indian lions 🦁 too it's a great story
I love rhinos so much, please do whatever is needed to safe them
Jessi!!!! I have sooo many questions on a sci show kids! Plsssss turn on the comments!😊❤
We do it to gain understanding and knowledge. We can learn so that when it happens To another species we will be more prepared.
it sounds like you consulted with gerd gigerenzer. this type of analysis sounds like it came straight out of How to Stay Smart in a Smart World. kudos
I think it's good if we try to save them, so long as we do it carefully and continue taking big efforts not to make further mistakes. I'm not convinced they really provide a lot of value to the ecosystem--my best guess as to their value is their territorial and aggressive nature would help keep their lands from being swarmed by smaller opportunist pack predators--but I also don't think we will succeed in saving them. But we will undoubtedly learn a ton of valuable insight by trying.
Hi Castaneda!
as much as i’d love to see the species bounce back, this feels like too extreme and risky of a situation to be pulled off well. it would take so much time to rebuild a population and by then their habitats could be so different that they either aren’t suited for them anymore or they end up becoming an “invasive” species to the newly established ecosystem. also, truly what kind of quality of life would this repopulation group have? there’s no question that they would be under constant medical and environmental stress being the first of their kind while also trying to not be the last. not to mention how expensive a project like this would be as well as (imo) extremely high risk and unpredictable. it just seems like an unfortunate situation where humans interfered too much and the consequences are clear. i think it would be more productive to let the remaining rhinos live the remainder of their lives, learn from the situation, and apply the scientific advancements to other projects
They would start evolving at a much more rapid pace and create new species of rhino sooner than they would have otherwise. We would probably see giant or Pygmy rhinos
If you are required to 'reinvent the wheel' every time, its not really a case of 'reinventing the wheel' since the old solution isnt applicable.
Something thats rarely brought up is that species are more than their biology. In some sense it makes bringing back an extinct species impossible because it will forever lack any behaviour and knowledge not encoded in to its genetics. Perhaps we could document enough to replicate an animals role models, but we know from raising creatures in captivity right now that this can be tricky, and those are behaviours we can still learn about from the living examples.
You might still want to do it, but it seems starkly more self serving. That you are not so much resurrecting a species as it once was, we had our chance to do that through conservation, you are just replicating its physical form for your own wonder. (Though there are perhaps more complicated situations, like bringing back a species that may act as steward for a land. That has its own array of issues.)
I think it's possible. I don't know about the ethical questions.
And I honestly think 40 years is MUCH too short a timeline for any of this... I feel like we'll need a century or two to truly set things right. Part of that is because of potential genetic trouble - after all, can we know that the genetic material we have available is "good" as it were? What if they all have greater-than-average chances for reproductive problems like our two survivors have? And there's the question of how we keep the new rhinos alive - not just safe from poachers either. The safest bet is to keep all the new stock in captivity - like they did with Whooping Cranes, kind of. And as another person pointed out, that also begs the question of who teaches these animals how to be what they ARE? Who's going to set aside and patrol territory for them? Who's paying for all this?
There's just so much to untangle here. I think we DEFINITELY should continue thinking hard about this idea. There are other species we might yet save, even if it turns out we can't save these rhinos. I also think we very much should not treat IVF as a "magic fix it button," because it just isn't, won't ever be - SHOULD never be - an easy solution. I'm all for optimism in seeing the potential of scientific solutions. But they can't exist in a vacuum and we've just plain got to be more sensible, more ethical, look ahead farther - with EVERYTHING in our world.
Just do it. Learn from it and preserve some of the material. Win Win
One step closer to making Xenomorphs
Instead of Seven Eves, it would be Two Eves....
I've not seen the video (yet), but the answer to if we should save them is already a loud yes. If nothing else, just to spite the poachers and hunters.
Behold, Holocene Park!
We should save every animal that us pathetic excuse of a human has done to the animal kingdom. We are supposed to be the most intelligent species of animal and we look like we are something from the bottom of the gene pool. It’s absolutely hilarious what we are doing to these majestic animals on their planet. We should know better we should be protecting our majestic animals and amazing creatures not destroying everything we get our hands on for money or for the latest fashion trends
Jessie! ❤
what is the worst that could happen? are they gonna go extinct they already effectively are so we might as well try and gain experince so we can do it better in the future
I think I just fell in Love....
Build an animal arc in captivity
Thats called a zoo
I diagnose this issue with human intervention
If I can play Devil's Advocate..., it gets kind of hot in those rhino.