To answer Jazz Shaw’s question of what reason there might be to resurrect some of these species: I assume that mammoth meat is tasty. Certainly our ancestors thought so, given that they hunted the species to extinction. Mammoth, moa, dodo, passenger pigeon… the list, as they say, goes on. As for the Tasmanian tiger… well, fur rugs are nice.
Oh, stop wincing. If minks didn’t produce such nice fur we’d have destroyed that vicious little species centuries ago. Besides, I don’t apologize that my species is the apex predator of the planetary food chain; humanity went to considerable trouble to get to this point, and – speaking as a human – that’s just fine by me. If other species want to make an issue of it, they’re welcome to demonstrate an ability to do calculus any time that they like.
Besides, how else am I to get a saber-toothed tiger head to mount on my wall?
I wanna see if we can domesticate those suckers.
So you approve of this?
Sure, Cam. Wouldn’t everybody?
If we’re gonna start genetically engineering stuff, I want to know when I can get one of those miniaturized giraffes…
Mammoth, moa, dodo, passenger pigeon… the list, as they say, goes on.
Read Howard Waldrop’s short story “The Ugly Chickens” …