With the rapid development of genetic engineering technology, these residual DNA fragments may eventually revive extinct animals. There are also some extinct animals, whose DNA is too old to recover, that is to say, they are completely extinct, such as dinosaurs and other animals. But why revive those animals that have disappeared? This process must be very expensive and difficult, and it may not be successful in ten or twenty years. Why are you trying this?
The answer to this question can also be used to answer another question, that is, why do we spend a lot of energy to protect those endangered species? The answer is the same: protect biodiversity, restore the declining ecosystem, promote scientific research to prevent animal extinction, and avoid the mistakes made by mankind in the past.
In addition, the resurrection of extinct animals has far-reaching significance. Some things that people thought were irreversible before, such as the extinction of animals, would be an amazing miracle if they could be reversed. This is also a great victory of imagination. Imagine how many people will feel awe and surprise when mammoths and pigeons roam the world again, and the cause of wildlife protection will be pushed to a new height.
Another good news is that IUCN has added two more "green lists" to the famous "red list" of endangered animals. The first list describes the species that are in good living condition, as well as those that were in poor condition before, but have improved a lot after effective help; Another list lists the protected and well-managed wild areas in the world. Conservationists are gradually understanding the benefits of building hope and rebuilding confidence. In a sense, the resurrected extinct animals are a beacon of hope.
In the process of research, valuable scientific questions will also be answered. In-depth study of the genomes of extinct species can tell us the reasons for the fragility of their populations. Did they encounter an evolutionary bottleneck caused by too little genetic variation? How are they different from other surviving close relatives? Living animals will reveal more unsolved mysteries for us.
The technology used to revive extinct animals can also be directly applied to existing endangered species. Groups with few individuals will increase the variability of genes; Through cloning technology, some animals with genetic defects can be completely cured. For example, scientists believe that the infectious facial tumor of Tasmanian devils is caused by a single gene. If the gene is silenced in the new generation of Tasmanian devils and released into the wild, the tumor disease will soon disappear. The reason is that the transgenic Tasmanian devil has immunity and will not be infected with tumors. They will also have an advantage in reproduction. After a period of time, the whole population will eventually become immune.
Some extinct species are the important "cornerstones" of the original living area, and if revived, it will promote the ecosystem to become more abundant. Mammoths, for example, used to be the dominant herbivore on the grassland in the far north, and once was the largest biological population on the earth. After they disappeared, this huge grassland was gradually replaced by tundra and boreal forest with few species. If mammoths can return to the far north, grasslands with carbon fixation capacity will gradually recover, and the area of tundra that releases greenhouse gases will gradually shrink. Similarly, the existence of European bison (extinct in 1627) also helps to maintain the biodiversity of forests and grasslands across Europe and Asia.
From the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean, from the hinterland of the southern United States to Canada, passenger pigeons are the key species in the broad-leaved forest in eastern North America. Aldo leopold, the pioneer of the wilderness protection movement, once wrote, "Every year, feather storms roar across the whole continent." . "The rich fruits of forests and grasslands are swept away, turned into heat energy, and burned out in their journey with life." This kind of animals can be used as the flagship species in a certain area to help raise people's awareness of protection. For example, the reintroduction of European bison will help promote the vigorous "Reclamation" movement in Europe. The activity spans many countries and aims to connect abandoned agricultural land in various countries to form a wildlife corridor.
States in the eastern United States have similar projects: "wildways". If the project is successful, it will create very favorable conditions for the future flight and migration of passenger pigeons and Carolina parakeets after their resurrection. The Carolina parakeet was once the most beautiful bird in the United States and the only native parrot species in the eastern United States.
In Tasmania, the virgin forests there are under increasing pressure from logging. If the magical Tasmanian tiger (1936 extinct) can reappear, there is no doubt that the local wildlife habitat will be better protected.
Today's children should also experience the reappearance of some extinct wild animals in their lives. This kind of experience will be extraordinary, which may affect what kind of people they become and their attitude towards nature. They will take their parents to the zoo to watch mammoths and artificially bred pigeons, as well as ivory-billed woodpeckers, Carolina parakeets, Eskimo curlews, great auk, Labrador ducks and even dodos. Tickets for the zoo will provide more funds for wildlife protection, and the zoo plays the most important role in the resurrection and population recovery of extinct animals.
In the past 10 thousand years, human hunting and shooting have led to the extinction of many species. With the help of modern science, maybe we can alleviate our sins a little.