mammoth confrence

August 8, 2003 7:19 AM

Mammoths (Mammuthus) have been discussed here before and for those modern explorers who hunt the long extinct tusker in the field there is the 3rd International Mammoth conference where you can learn about things such as Mammoth Hunters and Ice Age Dogs.
posted by stbalbach (4 comments total)

Great post! Thanks.
posted by Samsonov14 at 7:55 AM on August 8, 2003

Mammoths? Cool!

(sorry, couldn't resist)

This article from Whole Earth magazine advocates introducing elephants to North America's great plains to take the place of the mammoths.

"Biologists Michael Soulé and Reed Noss have proposed "rewilding" as the foundation of a continental conservation strategy ... We would like to consider the ultimate in rewilding ... We suggest that the project begin by restarting the evolution of the most influential of the missing species, the extinct animals most likely to have exerted the greatest influence on their natural environment. Based on what is known of living megaherbivores in Africa and Asia, and based on the fossil record of the New World, there is one clear choice, animals as potent as fire in their dynamic influence on ecosystems. If we want the "super-keystone species," second only to our own in their capability for altering habitats and faunas, we should start with the restoration of living proboscideans—with African and Asian elephants."

Sound good to me!
posted by Jos Bleau at 10:12 AM on August 8, 2003

Awesome link Jos.

We fully expect that the proposal for free-ranging elephants in the Americas will shock and confound many..

indeed. I am all for this.
posted by stbalbach at 10:28 AM on August 8, 2003

If they do introduce free-ranging mammoths to America, my wife will feed them. She will feed any animal that comes into our back yard. Deer. raccoons. Possums. An army of feral cats. Mammoths? Just throw a few bales of hay out on the back patio.
posted by Faze at 12:38 PM on August 8, 2003