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Wouldn't this make these animals totally dependant on us for survival? This would be a massive and complex operation on a world already populated by billions of

by remir 8y ago

Wouldn't this make these animals totally dependant on us for survival? This would be a massive and complex operation on a world already populated by billions of humans. If we want to protect these species, we should concentrate our effort in protecting the environment.

TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
I don't think it has to be a binary choice. I've often thought Tasmanian Devils¹ would be a great candidate for domestication, at least while they're under threat from the facial tumour.² Tassie Devils live and breed in captivity fine, and they're super cute! 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_facial_tumour_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_facial_tumour_disease
- clouddrover 8y ago
  Quolls as another candidate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoll https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoll People keep sugar gliders as pets but I'm not sure you can ever toilet train them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_glider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_glider
- PhantomGremlin 8y ago
  Tassie Devils live and breed in captivity fine, and they're super cute! Oh yeah, they're adorable. From Wiki: It is characterized by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odor, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding. The Tasmanian devil's large head and neck allow it to generate among the strongest bites per unit body mass of any extant mammal land predator Just the type of pet one would want in an NYC apartment. /s Of course, one could say similar things about wolves, and yet people are crazy about dogs.
- pvaldes 8y ago
  The problem is that they have a crushing bite to break bones and bad character. A extra powerful bite in a cute small animal is a complicated recipe for petting. Sharks have similar issues. They interact with other sharks biting even when they are trying to express romantic interest.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
    I wonder if the bad character would be bred out. Could take a while. Dogs have a lethal bite too so I don’t see that as necessarily an impediment.
    - pvaldes 8y ago
      Dogs are of social nature. Tasmanian devils are solitary and oportunist cannibals. With exceptions of females and its cubs, Tasmanian devils only tolerate other devils around when there is a lot of food.
Joakal 8y ago
The alternative choice is adoption of invasive species. Ie rabbits, cats, dogs. When people release them for whatever reason despite illegally, these animals go on to destroy the environment. If Australian animals get released to wildlife, at least it's not destructive animals. For example, millions of birds are killed by cats: https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-04/cats-killing-one-million-birds-in-australia-every-day-estimates/9013960 https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-04/cats-killing-one-m... Its illegal to keep most types of Australian animals as pets. It's insane.

by remir 8y ago

TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago

I don't think it has to be a binary choice. I've often thought Tasmanian Devils¹ would be a great candidate for domestication, at least while they're under threat from the facial tumour.² Tassie Devils live and breed in captivity fine, and they're super cute! 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_facial_tumour_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_facial_tumour_disease

clouddrover 8y ago
Quolls as another candidate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoll https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoll People keep sugar gliders as pets but I'm not sure you can ever toilet train them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_glider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_glider
PhantomGremlin 8y ago
Tassie Devils live and breed in captivity fine, and they're super cute! Oh yeah, they're adorable. From Wiki: It is characterized by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odor, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding. The Tasmanian devil's large head and neck allow it to generate among the strongest bites per unit body mass of any extant mammal land predator Just the type of pet one would want in an NYC apartment. /s Of course, one could say similar things about wolves, and yet people are crazy about dogs.
pvaldes 8y ago
The problem is that they have a crushing bite to break bones and bad character. A extra powerful bite in a cute small animal is a complicated recipe for petting. Sharks have similar issues. They interact with other sharks biting even when they are trying to express romantic interest.
- TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
  I wonder if the bad character would be bred out. Could take a while. Dogs have a lethal bite too so I don’t see that as necessarily an impediment.
  - pvaldes 8y ago
    Dogs are of social nature. Tasmanian devils are solitary and oportunist cannibals. With exceptions of females and its cubs, Tasmanian devils only tolerate other devils around when there is a lot of food.

Joakal 8y ago

The alternative choice is adoption of invasive species. Ie rabbits, cats, dogs. When people release them for whatever reason despite illegally, these animals go on to destroy the environment. If Australian animals get released to wildlife, at least it's not destructive animals. For example, millions of birds are killed by cats: https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-04/cats-killing-one-million-birds-in-australia-every-day-estimates/9013960 https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-04/cats-killing-one-m... Its illegal to keep most types of Australian animals as pets. It's insane.