4 ms·

Since this wasn't known before, am I right to assume that a lot of giraffes in zoos are hybrids of the different species?

sandworm101 10y ago
They were believed to be sub-species and so I doubt zoos mixed and matched. The real outcome seems to be that the species is now 1/4 its previous size. Where there was once one endangered species, now stand four very endangered species. Similar and more dramatic story with mantas: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/080731-new-ray.html http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/080731-new-r...
- kristofferR 10y ago
  There's a philosophical question in the fact that something just became more treasured because of DNA testing results, but I'm not even going to attempt answering that.
  - jacobrobbins 10y ago
    the philosophical questions raised by multiple, visually similar species being considered as one have come up before. Zebras were discovered to be 3 separate species. See "What, if anything, is a Zebra?" from 1983 http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/gleazer/462_readings/gould.pdf http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/gleazer/462_readings/gould.pdf
  - dredmorbius 10y ago
    Value isn't absolute, but a relation between the valuer and that being valued. W.F. Lloyd, 1833, "A Lecture on the Notion of Value as Distinguished Not Only from Utility, but also from Value in Exchange". http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/lloyd/value http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/lloyd/val...
  - rcthompson 10y ago
    There's no need to invoke philosophy here. It's pretty well accepted that an ecosystem with less biodiversity is more fragile, and from that perspective the extinction of a species is a concerning event, particularly if the extinction was accelerated by human actions. If new information indicates that a species or group of species is in much greater danger of going extinct than was previously thought, then it makes sense to prioritize conservation efforts for those species more highly.
- ksenzee 10y ago
  > The real outcome seems to be that the species is now 1/4 its previous size. I had a sudden panicky vision of miniature quarter-size giraffes caused by improper zoo breeding before I figured out what you meant.
  - dtparr 10y ago
    5' tall proportional giraffe "ponies" would actually probably be a bigger hit than the full sized ones at zoos.
    - sandworm101 10y ago
      Only if they were smarter. Giraffe are reputed to be about the least intelligent animal on four feet. It's something to do with the braincase and the pressure differences due to that long neck.

sandworm101 10y ago

They were believed to be sub-species and so I doubt zoos mixed and matched. The real outcome seems to be that the species is now 1/4 its previous size. Where there was once one endangered species, now stand four very endangered species. Similar and more dramatic story with mantas: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/080731-new-ray.html http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/080731-new-r...

kristofferR 10y ago
There's a philosophical question in the fact that something just became more treasured because of DNA testing results, but I'm not even going to attempt answering that.
- jacobrobbins 10y ago
  the philosophical questions raised by multiple, visually similar species being considered as one have come up before. Zebras were discovered to be 3 separate species. See "What, if anything, is a Zebra?" from 1983 http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/gleazer/462_readings/gould.pdf http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/gleazer/462_readings/gould.pdf
- dredmorbius 10y ago
  Value isn't absolute, but a relation between the valuer and that being valued. W.F. Lloyd, 1833, "A Lecture on the Notion of Value as Distinguished Not Only from Utility, but also from Value in Exchange". http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/lloyd/value http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/lloyd/val...
- rcthompson 10y ago
  There's no need to invoke philosophy here. It's pretty well accepted that an ecosystem with less biodiversity is more fragile, and from that perspective the extinction of a species is a concerning event, particularly if the extinction was accelerated by human actions. If new information indicates that a species or group of species is in much greater danger of going extinct than was previously thought, then it makes sense to prioritize conservation efforts for those species more highly.
ksenzee 10y ago
> The real outcome seems to be that the species is now 1/4 its previous size. I had a sudden panicky vision of miniature quarter-size giraffes caused by improper zoo breeding before I figured out what you meant.
- dtparr 10y ago
  5' tall proportional giraffe "ponies" would actually probably be a bigger hit than the full sized ones at zoos.
  - sandworm101 10y ago
    Only if they were smarter. Giraffe are reputed to be about the least intelligent animal on four feet. It's something to do with the braincase and the pressure differences due to that long neck.