My very first exposure to the animals of the ice age came through a movie called Ice Age. In this movie a wooly mammoth named Sid helps a human child find its parents, with the help of a giant sloth, saber tooth tiger, and a prehistoric squirrel.
This movie was completely unrealistic, and followed no archeological evidence whatsoever. But what it did do was made us think, imagine what interactions with these ancient species would be like, and riveted our imaginations with the possibilities from a time now past. I have often thought of how awesome it would be to see such a fantastic and wild creature, and that just got one step closer.
The entire genome of wooly mammoths has been done and this has been put side by side with that of modern-day elephants. The result was the discovery of 14 or so genes that made it so the wooly mammoth was able to resist the cold that was oh so prevalent during the period of time in wich it lived. The genetic diffenences are now being tested on those of elephant cells, with the hopes of eventuaally creating an “arctic elephant” but what the creation of such a species would look like, and how it would impact the ecosystem of modern arctic and sub arctic areas is a question that has not been answered.
But just think about how aawesome it would be to go to Canada or Russia and see massive creatures with tusks and trunks roaming the tundra and northern forests. most people in the United States, Canada, Russia, and other northern countries have never seen an elephant in the wild, but have seen them in zoos. I feel as if the elephants that we see in zoos are very poor representations of how elephants really are. THe ones that we see behind the fences just sit around all day because of their small inclosures. Their enclosures arent all that small, but they are when you compare them to the vast savahnas deserts and swamps that wild elephants explore. So as we discuss the bioethics of releasing “arctic elephants” into the wild let us also consider the ethics of raising proud wild animals in situations that are so poorly suited for their natural abilities and habits. Would you want to be kept locked up in an uncomfortable little pit?
outdorrsguy 