Species Revival: Should We Bring Back Extinct Animals?

Species Revival: Should We Bring Back Extinct Animals? Hunter Galindo Veterinary Sciences Period 4 April 19, 2013 West Career and Technical Academy

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Abstract For the first time, our species- the race that has done so much to destroy and demolish 795 others to extinction, is now inclined to bring some of them back. Two sides of debate divide this controversial subject: Should we bring them back because we can? On the other side, conservationists and environmental activists argue that we should not due to the fact that we dont have one inkling on how to reintroduce them to our natural ecosystems and why should we be concerning ourselves with bringing back extinct animals when we already have critically endangered animals that need the quickly dwindling resources. Scientists who fall in the category of favoring species revival feel that we have an obligation to do so, to right the wrong we have done to Mother Earth by driving off some of the co-tenants to begin with. De-extinction advocates have argued from both sides of this subject, and critics have labeled species revival as playing God. Whether or whether not de-extinction is a good idea, the excitement of the possibility stems from the chance to travel back in time and marvel in awe of the lost world that no longer exists.

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Discussion This is a huge and enormous discovery to science; we now have the ability to revive extinct animals through recovered DNA. We now have the chance to literally reverse time and bring back what was lost from manmade and natural disasters. If we are successful in reviving animals from DNA testing, we could potentially extend this research to human and plant species. Adding old species back into our world would replenish the animal kingdom, expanding biodiversity and replacing numerous animals that we have driven to extinction. On the other hand, this could mean the end of the line for todays modern species. Old and current species will be competing for resources, unfortunately this wont work out so well for the very extinct species. This is important to my program area because, we have already began to learn about how old species are alike and different from modern species. We have learned in class how todays society would benefit from reviving certain species such as the Wooly Mammoth and Tasmanian Tiger, how biodiversity would explode. In my opinion, I find this discovery to be bittersweet, on one hand we have the potential to achieve something that has never been attempted before and be successful in doing so. And on the other hand, if we are successful and thing go south, we could potentially plunge the ecosystem into a bigger debt than ever before, killing off current species in the attempt to sustain the life of de-extincted ones. If we pull this off, this technology can and will go to new heights.

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Citation Shreeve, J. (2013, March 15). Species revival: Should we bring back extinct animals. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/03/130305-science-animals-extinctspecies-revival-deextinction-debate-tedx/