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Your "extinct from inbreeding" theory is not likely. There are many examples of animals coming back from groups well under 100, and doing fine. Such as the se
by XalvinX 8y ago
Your "extinct from inbreeding" theory is not likely. There are many examples of animals coming back from groups well under 100, and doing fine. Such as the sea otter of California which was down to somewhere between 25 and 50 and is now over 3000, with no signs of deformities or other problems.
- danieltillett 8y agoSustained inbreed on a small island is a very common way for apex predators to become extinct and there are lots of examples from around the world of this happening after the last ice age. 100 might be OK for a short drop (~150 is considered the bottom end for most populations), but sustain a population at 50 breeding pairs for a few hundred generations and every allele in the population will end up homozygous though genetic drift.