Considering how pretty much all Australian megafauna died out in the late Pleistocene, it would be difficult to change that.
Saving Animals from Extinction
- Thread starter oshron
- Start date
Considering how pretty much all Australian megafauna died out in the late Pleistocene, it would be difficult to change that.
As I said in an earlier post, quite a few animals went extinct in the wild (Przewalski's horses, European bison, scimitar oryx) but still had enough of a captive population to propagate the species. All modern Przewalski's horses descend from only nine captive individuals, but there is now a population of over three hundred in the wild due to careful releases, and the same thing happened with European bison.
For just about any animal this last that survived up until at least the 1800s-early 1900s, just have enough of a captive population hang on in zoos and their numbers can be bred back through careful management and possibly even re-released back into the wild. This should save the quagga/thylacine/Syrian wild ass/whatever species or subspecies that went extinct during this era.
Even in the modern day (80s to 90s), a lot of finch species went extinct in Hawaii due to invasive plants out-competing their native food sources and invasive frogs eating a lot of their insects. More careful management or eradication of invasive species earlier in human history could prevent a lot of similar extinctions on the smaller islands.
For just about any animal this last that survived up until at least the 1800s-early 1900s, just have enough of a captive population hang on in zoos and their numbers can be bred back through careful management and possibly even re-released back into the wild. This should save the quagga/thylacine/Syrian wild ass/whatever species or subspecies that went extinct during this era.
Even in the modern day (80s to 90s), a lot of finch species went extinct in Hawaii due to invasive plants out-competing their native food sources and invasive frogs eating a lot of their insects. More careful management or eradication of invasive species earlier in human history could prevent a lot of similar extinctions on the smaller islands.
The Sandman
Banned
Great Auk is actually pretty easy, if geologic PODs are acceptable: have their next-to-last breeding colony not sink due to tectonic activity. That island was completely impossible for humans to access as far as the auk nesting grounds were concerned, unlike their last breeding colony which we could get at from one side.
It might also be possible to have a few of them be saved by having someone request live ones (including fertilized eggs) for a zoo, instead of OTL where museums looking for eggs to preserve were a major contributor to the final drop into the abyss.
Aurochs might be possible, assuming a bit better luck and more deliberate effort to keep at least some of them alive. The same with the tarpan.
The baiji could be saved if you a)avoid the Cultural Revolution and b)have the Chinese governments that follow give a shit about keeping them alive.
Not draining the Aral Sea would save any species that went extinct as a result of that catastrophe.
Most island critters, sadly, are doomed the instant one or more of rats, cats and pigs get established on their homes.
It might also be possible to have a few of them be saved by having someone request live ones (including fertilized eggs) for a zoo, instead of OTL where museums looking for eggs to preserve were a major contributor to the final drop into the abyss.
Aurochs might be possible, assuming a bit better luck and more deliberate effort to keep at least some of them alive. The same with the tarpan.
The baiji could be saved if you a)avoid the Cultural Revolution and b)have the Chinese governments that follow give a shit about keeping them alive.
Not draining the Aral Sea would save any species that went extinct as a result of that catastrophe.
Most island critters, sadly, are doomed the instant one or more of rats, cats and pigs get established on their homes.
Another idea (that I often bring up
) is change the slash-and-burn of the Malagasy settlers to slash-and-char: This probably saved quite a few Amazon Basin species from extinction when the indigenous peoples there developed agriculture. This, along with some cultural tweaks, might even be able to save the Giant Aye-Aye and Archaeoindris. More easy genera to save might include Pachylemur.On a more general note, a lot of species worldwide could be saved by changing some cultural practices, like having community quotas on the hunting of animals and coupling this with a mandate on using every part possible of all animals killed. For example, I know that the Kayapo of Brazil also have a custom mandating that they nurture the young of the animals they kill, and many South and Southeast Asian cultures (like the Saraswat) are largely semi-vegetarian. Making these kinds of customs more widespread would definitely make things easier for both the environment and the people living on the land, as it would be used much more efficiently and sustainably.