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The Mammoth Pirates
- morsch 9y agoCan't help but think that this is one of the utterly bizarre and wide ranging consequences of extreme income disparity. The original article is at [1] (they link to it, but it's kinda easy to miss); the post on Bored Panda does contain additional photos. [1] https://www.rferl.org/a/the-mammoth-pirates/27939865.html https://www.rferl.org/a/the-mammoth-pirates/27939865.html
- nikcub 9y agoBored Panda appear to have ripped off the original source wholesale .. wonder what is up with that.
- wojg 9y agoThey did so without our permission, as you can see from the watermark on the photos.
- nikcub 9y agoOh man, I suspected it but to have it confirmed really sucks. I just noticed their post had 1.1M views and they still haven't updated the story or left a note. If you're thinking about what to do next - try a DMCA to them and copied to abuse@ for their hosting provider. Ditto same report to their ad networks or exchanges (that can sometimes be really effective in changing behavior) edit: btw brilliant work, I really enjoyed it.
- ceworthington 9y agoHere's a link to the actual work - which is impressively presented - instead of this BoredPanda nonsense which is little more than bootleg theft. https://www.rferl.org/a/the-mammoth-pirates/27939865.html https://www.rferl.org/a/the-mammoth-pirates/27939865.html
- wojg 9y agoThanks! I produced the piece. Nice to see it here on HN.
- lostlogin 9y agoGreat article thanks. How did you get agreement from the tuskers to go with them, or even find out where to try meeting them?
- wojg 9y agoI'm not the photographer, I put the site together. Our photo journalist, Amos, met one of the tuskers on another reporting trip (which I also produced), called On Siberia's Ice Highway.
- wojg 9y agoHere's the other piece: https://www.rferl.org/a/on-siberias-ice-highway/27706633.html?nocache=1 https://www.rferl.org/a/on-siberias-ice-highway/27706633.htm...
- broken_symlink 9y agoI really enjoy reading these types of interactive stories. Good work!
- PeterisP 9y agoThis is almost like improvised strip mining. The RFERL article states that one of these teams went through 5 tons of gasoline for the water pumps blasting that mud apart; it's obviously also a major investment that you may simply gamble away..
- PhasmaFelis 9y agoAnd usually do. The video I saw said that something like 30% of tuskers break even; the rest wind up penniless, and often with large loans.
- stronglikedan 9y agoJosh Gates and crew went and documented this for an episode of Expedition Unknown [0]. I don't envy those guys, but I found the process fascinating. [0] http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/expedition-unknown/episodes/woolly-mammoth-part-2 http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/expedition-unknown/episod...
- adamnemecek 9y agoSales of mammoth ivory should be banned, just like the sales of elephant ivory. Distinguishing mammoth ivory from elephant ivory is pretty hard and as a result sales of mammoth ivory can act as a cover for sales of illegal elephant ivory.
- eru 9y agoI wonder whether raising elephants for ivory (and meat?) could actually work?
- adamnemecek 9y agoNo, it wouldn't. Besides the ethical problems, it's not possible economically and zoologically. I'm kind of disturbed that this suggestion is so prevalent.
- mc32 9y agoWhen the price per kilo/pound of ivory on the market is equivalent to that of gold, it's hard to believe that it would not be viable --the issue I can see is getting undercut by poachers. I believe there is a rancher in South Africa who is banking on the gov't allowing private production of rhino ivory[1] [1]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/southafrica/12173750/Why-the-worlds-largest-rhino-farmer-is-cutting-off-their-horns.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianoce... [edit, it was rhino ivory and not elephant ivory the rancher is producing]
- adamnemecek 9y agoI mean what would be the point of this? Are we trying to prevent suffering of an intelligent species or what? Also its not really viable. It takes forever to grow tusks (think decades). And you are right, fundamentally this would just lead to extinction of elephants in the wild, because poachers would kill them. But let's take a step back and realize that we really don't need to be enslaving another species.
- guest 9y agoI was suprised to see that none had commented on draining the possible genepool for Mammoth yet? These "miners" are bound to reduce the available DNA for researchers that do work within this field, humans likely killed off the mammoth - if we brought it back it could serve to upkeep large quantities of open grounds (believe it or not but herds are important to grasslands and soilvalue). Either there should be a larger rewards than the bones can offer and a get out of jail freecard for the offense if fresh DNA or what to is believed to be such is found (so that scientifical extraction is possible on site). Or the regulation should be strengthened, both the governement and the criminal networks should realise what a potential goldmine living and breeding mammothherds could be for russia...
- userbinator 9y agohttp://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32432693 http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32432693 AFAIK the problems with creating a living mammoth are not in extracting DNA but in the other "implementation details", since we already know the complete genome.
- jessriedel 9y agoSequencing the genome of a species means you have a typical (or maybe modal) sequence of an individual. The GP is specifically talking about the gene pool, which is the set of variations with respect to the modal genome.
- appleflaxen 9y agoThose mosquito feet. That's like a photograph of pure misery.
- prawn 9y agoAs someone who is like a delicacy for mosquitos, that photo was seriously disturbing.
- NicoJuicy 9y agoFake ivory/lab grown, drop prices. Is that a viable solution?
- matthewhall 9y agoThere's still adventure out there.