The Passenger Pigeon is an extinct North American bird. The species lived in enormous migratory flocks until the early 20th century, when hunting and habitat destruction led to its demise. One flock in 1866 in southern Ontario was described as being 1 mile wide and 300 miles long, took 14 hours to pass, and held in excess of 3.5 billion birds.
Last week scientists met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a plan to bring the passenger pigeon back from extinction. The technical challenges are immense, and the ethical questions are slippery. But as genetic technology races ahead, a scenario that's hard to imagine is becoming harder to dismiss out of hand.
5 comment(s):
Isn't this the same scenario envisioned in Jurassic Park? What could possibly go wrong...?
I don't really like regular pigeons. However, I'm anxious to see if I can form a meaningful relationship with the passenger variety.
Forget the Passenger Pigeons - go for the Dough-Dough Bird.
I only see one major problem in this project...
If it is possible to revive an extinct animal... who should care not to extinct them? ... Feels like they can be revived anyway...
I see a problem.
"It was easy to tell where the pigeons had roosted: The trees were crippled, their branches cracked off and picked clean of nuts and acorns. For miles, the ground was coated with a layer of feces more than an inch thick."
Not on my car, you don't.
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