Live data from Hacker News

Can We Bring Back the Passenger Pigeon?

nybooks.com

21–30 of 43 posts

Re: Can We Bring Back the Passenger Pigeon?

#21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of species have gone extinct due to the meddling of human beings, which is something many might not consider to be nature running its course.

Are you implying humans are artificial?

Semantic games can be played in either direction. Are you implying humans trying to preserve ecosystem are artificial?

Re: Can We Bring Back the Passenger Pigeon?

#23
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of species have gone extinct due to the meddling of human beings, which is something many might not consider to be nature running its course.

We're a part of nature like everything else in the universe. We happen to be a sudden, violent shock to this planet's ecosystem. It happens. We can try to diminish our impact on the future, but we should let those organisms who couldn't adapt to our toxicity rest in peace.

> We're a part of nature like everything else in the universe.

So, then, whatever we choose to do—whether it is protecting species, ignoring them, or exterminating them—is, equally, letting nature run its course.

Re: Can We Bring Back the Passenger Pigeon?

#24

Can we let nature run it's course and let species that go extinct go extinct like they always have for billions of years?

Natural != good for humans. We evolved and are well suited for the current ecosystem. Whether you view human-caused mass extinction as natural or not, it probably won't be great for us. So it makes sense to try to preserve existing species/environments and develop techniques for rolling back the clock when needed.

Re: Can We Bring Back the Passenger Pigeon?

#25
post #9

I'll leave this here. https://flypigeon.co

The article is not about carrier pigeons, but about the passenger pigeon. This is a North American species of pigeon famous for the huge size of its flocks, large enough to darken the skies on a sunny day. It was commercially overhunted to extinction by the early 20th century, a famous example of extinction.

Thanks for pointing out. I shared the link more in the interest of general pigeon discussion.

Re: Can We Bring Back the Passenger Pigeon?

#26
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're a part of nature like everything else in the universe. We happen to be a sudden, violent shock to this planet's ecosystem. It happens. We can try to diminish our impact on the future, but we should let those organisms who couldn't adapt to our toxicity rest in peace.

> We're a part of nature like everything else in the universe. So, then, whatever we choose to do—whether it is protecting species, ignoring them, or exterminating them—is, equally, letting nature run its course.

How could it be otherwise?

Re: Can We Bring Back the Passenger Pigeon?

#27
post #3

The problem with the Passenger Pigeon is that it was very common everywhere, and its behavior came to rely on this fact. An individual will leave its flock and just assume it can find a new flock. Once the population level dropped below a critical threshold, it was doomed. The Rusty Blackbird has much the same problem, and the fear is that it may have now dropped below its threshold.

Well, their propensity to flock together and strategy of predator satiation made them extremely vulnerable to commercial hunting. It also looks like they suffered from the hunting equivalent of "panic logging": as the population collapsed, the commercial hunters reliant on them struggled to be the last hunter standing, rather than find another line of business before they went extinct. http://www.audubon.org/magazine/may-june-2014/why-passenger-...

The same thing nearly happened to the bison; there were less than 300 individuals left in 1900, mostly preserved as private property by a few individuals who wanted to save them from extinction. The Yosemite herd was an exception, 23 individuals than managed to hide out in Yellowstone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bison_hunting#Resurgence_of_th...

Re: Can We Bring Back the Passenger Pigeon?

#28
post #20

Can we not resurrect this absurd topic? There's a lot of low-hanging fruit we can harvest in terms of reducing our damage to existing species.

Perhaps it's overdiscussed here, but there are lots of important environmental lessons that are worth reflecting on.
Post reply on HN