Which recently extinct animal species would you bring back from the dead?

[Danielos]

If you had the choice to resurrect one species of animal that is believed to have died out in the last 10,000 years, which would it be? If you don´t know the species listed, use Wikipedia to find out...

 

[Danielos]

Come on, no potential biologists or animal lovers here??

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

All the options suck.

I'd bring back the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

 

[Danielos]

All the options suck.

I'd bring back the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

That´s 24 incredible animals! And I only choose species that were likely more or less wiped out by ourselves...

 

[Mowque]

One of the giant birds, that would be neat.

 

[cardgame]

Wooly mammoth, I wanna see what it tastes like

 

[Mowque]

Wooly mammoth, I wanna see what it tastes like

Didn't someone dig one up and eat one?

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

That´s 24 incredible animals! And I only choose species that were likely more or less wiped out by ourselves...

Sorry, I didn't see the "recently" in the thread title.

 

[Dachs]

I want them to more widely distribute and repopulate the Asiatic lion, not bring back any of these failures.

 

[Danielos]

One of the giant birds, that would be neat.

I agree with you! The loss of the magnificient Moa birds of New Zealand and the huge Elephant Birds of Madagascar is tragic!

 

[MobBoss]

Any of the mega-fauna. And there are some good ones not on your list. For example, my vote would be for Giganopithecus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantopithecus

Just something cool about a 'King Kong' kind of animal really existing.

 

[Danielos]

Any of the mega-fauna. And there are some good ones not on your list. For example, my vote would be for Giganopithecus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantopithecus

Just something cool about a 'King Kong' kind of animal really existing.

Those huge primates vanished 300,000 years ago, so they are too ancient for being included here.

 

[MobBoss]

Those huge primates vanished 300,000 years ago, so they are too ancient for being included here.

Picky. Picky.

Smilodon then.

 

[Danielos]

3 votes?! Are the animals so sucky or are they just that unknown?

Yes, Smilodon could perhaps have made it in. If it were alive today, I think it would have been the worst maneater ever. It was a ferocious hunter and preyed on megafauna...

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

No "your mom" option? Anyway, I'd bring them back based on certain criteria, such as viability and ecological niche.

 

[Danielos]

No "your mom" option? Anyway, I'd bring them back based on certain criteria, such as viability and ecological niche.

New Caledonia must have been the coolest place ever with thew giant turtle Meiolania, the land crocodile Mecosuchus and a big flightless bird, Sylviornis. From Wikipedia:

"In the past, New Caledonia's wildlife was even more ancient, almost resembling throwbacks to the Mesozoic. New Caledonia was inhabited by Meiolania, a gigantic turtle resembling a dinosaur ankylosaur the size of a car. Another inhabitant of New Caledonia was Sylviornis, a huge bird with a long, reptilian tail that resembles a dinosaur, probably most closely resembling the oviraptors. The dominant predators of New Caledonia were mekosuchine crocodiles, specifically Mekosuchus. These crocs resembled armored, quadrupedal theropod dinosaurs, and fossil remains suggest they were terrestrial and partly arboreal. All of these creatures died out when humans arrived on New Caledonia."

 

[Annex]

Tasmanian Tigers are pretty cool. I voted for them.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Extinct tiger species would be good. A lot of the species brought down by big game hunters would fulfill an ecological niche, usually as the predator. And they can survive, provided they are not hunted down.

 

[Lillefix]

It has to be something big. Like a big sloth. The Megatherium:

 

[Danielos]

Tasmanian Tigers are pretty cool. I voted for them.

Yes, they are the most recent extinction here (1938). It is a real shame that they were allowed to be wiped out. Sheep-farmers hunted them to extinction, and it got protected when only a single specimen remained in a zoo. That´s early 20th century conservation biology in a nutshell...