Bringing it Back! Whats taking so long?

You would think with all of the DNA and specimen they have on file the Carolina Parakeet would be a prime candidate to start the revival of an extinct species. We all want to see a woolly mammoth brought back in our life time, but with very little on file to do so, science needs to make baby steps first.

I know some people see an ethical issue bringing back extinct animals, but I don't see the problem. The issue would only be environmental, because introducing a once extinct specie back into the wild might upset the balance. We all know that the first few would be controlled and any release into the wild would be many years away.

I would just hope to be able to see one in my life time, alive and not stuffed. They were gorgeous birds, and it is a shame people did not have conservation in mind when hunting these animals for their feathers to make hats. It makes no since to hunt a bird for its feathers as you could just wait for them to drop out and it would be an endless supply. Kill the bird and you risk what happened to the Carolina Parakeet.

I am just wondering what is taking so long to bring back any extinct animal. According to science we got the technology to do so, so why not try? Sure they will mess up a few times, and might inadvertently create a new specie of bird, or even kill a successful clone here and there. The issue, is nothing will be learned if they do not try. I am for it, it's not like we are playing GOD, we are not making something from nothing. We are still limited by the limits on this Earth, so we can not create something new. The worst we can do is make a new parrot specie, but it would still be a parrot. Dolly the lamb died quickly as the first cloned animal, but science figured out the issue and are now successful at having a clone live a full life. Is it not time to try and bring back something? I say the Carolina Parakeet is the perfect candidate for being the first to be brought back, as so much DNA information exist already for the specie of Conure.

Just my thoughts. I posted it here as something different to talk about than all the normal issues that are posted about Conures.

image taken from.

Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) | Parrot Encyclopedia

I believe the Carolina parakeets were hunted because they were eating the farmers crops.
However, I still think its cool we used to have a parrot In America.

Also, I believe Dolly died at age 7, the same age as her mother.
And they are - last I heard - attempting to bring back a type of frog that went extinct a few years ago. I don't know how it's going in terms of success, but it sounds like they're learning a lot.
Ill find the article in a sec

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...amed-one-of-2013-best-inventions-8957888.html
They didnt bring back the frog, but it did divide for a few days before dying.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/d/dolly_the_sheep.htm
Dolly died at 6 years of age, the age of the ewe whose genetic material was copied
http://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/Watchablearticles/parakeet.cfm
They were shot for food, fun and feathers, as well as because of crops. This also contains lots of other information for anyone who hasn't read up on them. They were a very unknown species.


Genetically copying animals takes a lot of funding and time. The frogs did develop, but they died, and scientists have to figure out why. They also tried to bring back a type of ibex, and out of 57 animals being in pregnanted, only 7 took, 6 died and the one who did give birth gave birth to a genetically screwed kid that had something on its lung, therefore it died within minutes of birth.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/125-species-revival/zimmer-text

Science isn't magic

I've heard rumors that there is a breeder(s) trying to bring back the Carolina Conure via hybridization. I haven't seen any proof of this, so I can't say for sure.

If the species was brought back to life, then what? It could not be released out into the wild because it wouldn't know how to survive. It wouldn't know what to eat, what predators are dangerous, where to roost, etc. Attempts at people releasing captive raised parrots where there are no parrots currently living has only been met with failure. (go figure! there are feral flocks of parrots all around the world!)

And if we were successful at bringing the species back, would we have enough genetic material stored up to create a healthy breeding population, even if we never released the birds? (it's possible, there are species out there that have suffered genetic bottlenecks - cheetahs and elephant seals being two examples)


It's just some things to consider. Scientists were able to bring back the pyrenean ibex to life, however the ibex died shortly after birth from fluid in the lungs.

In 2013, it sounds like scientists are planning to bring back woolly mammoths as well.


De-extinction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia