Lets say we have all what is needed to bring some species of dinosaurs back to life, like preserved DNA, an Animal capable of laying the eggs etc., should we do it?
Would you like to see dinosaurs in a “Jurassic Park”, keep small ones instead of a cat, or ride on one of them in a dinosaur derby?
Lets say we have all what is needed to bring some species of dinosaurs back to life, like preserved DNA, an Animal capable of laying the eggs etc., should we do it?
Would you like to see dinosaurs in a “Jurassic Park”, keep small ones instead of a cat, or ride on one of them in a dinosaur derby?
Tough question. From a purely scientific inquiry point of view, it’s hard to see why not. The chance to observe a living, breathing creature that has been extinct for tens of millions of years and was previously known only from fossil remains is just too much to pass up.
On the other hand, the ethics are questionable in my view. To create a creature for the sole purpose of study and presumably keep it confined for its entire lifetime seems less than commendable. You sure can’t turn them loose in the wild, for lots of obvious reasons.
I’m sure you’re joking about riding them and making a spectacle of them. Right?
Well, we keep animals in cages all the time, so I don’t see why not letting a dinosaur run in the wild would be any different. Second, we have brought plants back to life from extinction (see HERE). Plants are not animals, but so what?
I think a tougher question would be answering if bringing back, say, an Australopithecus would be moral. Would it be okay to keep “it” (?) in a cage? Would killing it be considered a manslaughter? Could we eat it? Could we marry it? Make it work without a pay? Keep it in a circus?
I am sure the answer to all of the above (with the exception of marriage and legal rights) regarding a Homo erectus would be a ‘no.’ The opposite is true of a chimp. With Australopithecus lying somewhere in between, it would be very hard to answer if they should be treated as animals of humans.
@Freeinky
I was joking a little bit, about the ride, but the dino-zoo would be nice i think, and we could let them run free on an far away island or so (like they did in the movie).
To see a real t-rex would be amazing.
No, I hadn’t heard that. Who are “they”? I’m pretty sure there were never elephants in North America. Mastadons, yes, but of course they are long gone.
No, I hadn’t heard that. Who are “they”? I’m pretty sure there were never elephants in North America. Mastadons, yes, but of course they are long gone.
You know they are thinking about letting elephants running wild in the U.S., right?
I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll state it again, if they’re going to do this then clone the mammoth, the mastodon, the saber tooth cat etc. I want to see a Pleistocene park not have a bunch of zoo animals running amuck in South Dakota. In reality what they’re proposing is Nothing more than an outdoor zoo. And if you want to ride a dinosaur then go to the creationist museum in Kentucky. They have a mock up with a saddle. OMG. Ride ‘em T Rex!
I know, it pains me too! Hey Free, you going to visit the noah’s ark exibit near there? Wow, maybe we can see some unicorns on board. Beshear’s thinking about busting out state funds to build it and claims it would bring in some tourist dollars when those fundies come a runnin’ to see all the dinosaurs packed into the boat. A double whammy for Ky. Maybe they’ll ba able to give their teachers a raise from the profits! Not!
You know they are thinking about letting elephants running wild in the U.S., right?
I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll state it again, if they’re going to do this then clone the mammoth, the mastodon, the saber tooth cat etc. I want to see a Pleistocene park not have a bunch of zoo animals running amuck in South Dakota. In reality what they’re proposing is Nothing more than an outdoor zoo. And if you want to ride a dinosaur then go to the creationist museum in Kentucky. They have a mock up with a saddle. OMG. Ride ‘em T Rex!
Cap’t Jack
Why not turn South Dakota in a Dino Park
Then they could call it the Dino-State and put a Pteranodon and a Velociraptor on the seal, which would be awesome.
South Dakota would become the mecca of Paleontology nerds and dinosaur obsessed ten year old boys… technically both conditions are the same.
And finally the dinosaur documentarys on TV could be made without CGI.
I know, it pains me too! Hey Free, you going to visit the noah’s ark exibit near there? Wow, maybe we can see some unicorns on board. Beshear’s thinking about busting out state funds to build it and claims it would bring in some tourist dollars when those fundies come a runnin’ to see all the dinosaurs packed into the boat. A double whammy for Ky. Maybe they’ll ba able to give their teachers a raise from the profits! Not!
If you’re interested, I have a small photo album of my visit there last year. They do a good job spacing the exhibits so they’re hard to take picture of, so I wasn’t able to get as many as I wanted.
