Jurassic Farm: Can we bring prehistoric bovines back from extinction?

modernfarmer.com ^ | September 10, 2014 | By Kristan Lawson

[Sherman Logan]

The European bison never went extinct. They survived in zoos and have since been reintroducted into “the wild.” There are about 5000 total, with the number growing.

[Red Badger]

Yes, but they are worried that the gene pool is very small, and needs some ‘wild’ vigor to keep up the diversity. Those 5000 are seemingly all related to each other.................

[Safetgiver]

the anti-flatulence trait....Oh, great! Cows floating all over the sky like the Goodyear Blimp! Just...shiite.

[Hugin]

I tried alligator at a blues festival once. Stringy and way too salty for my taste. Maybe they just were lousy cooks though.

[lowbridge]

Can we bring back the brontosaurus? I want to know what a brontosaurus burger tastes like.

[FateAmenableToChange]

There is also a group trying to re-introduce the Eruopean Bison from crosses with American stock.................

Why? European Bison still exist without any need to cross them with American stock. There is a herd in Poland and Belarus.

European Bison

[Red Badger]

The gene pool is small. All the ones alive are descendents of the ones that were alive in zoos when the wild ones went extinct. They need to diversify their genetics, so breeding in some American bison genes, here and there will help to protect the remaining ones, in case of some disease that could wipe them all out.............

[dfwgator]

Life finds a way.

[martin_fierro]

[elcid1970]

The Saber-Toothed Angus........

[aMorePerfectUnion]

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[JimRed]

McDonalds would love to have Brontosaurs brought back. One could feed thousands.

Probably taste just like chicken, too!

[trisham]

The cave drawings are incredible.

[trisham]

It might be very beneficial.

[fatez]

Neolithic ping, nice find badger...

[BobL]

Now if we only would do the same with WHEAT, we could cut the Type 2 rate by 90%.

[Defiant]

Um, I think an armadillo is a mammal.

[tbw2]

And there are Russians eager to map the mammoth genome so they can engineer elephant gametes to make mammoths - both to create a tourist attraction and restore, in their opinion, the tundra to its former grassland glory.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger and fatez.

[CommerceComet]

A few years ago, we revisited the Omaha zoo. I wanted to show my boys the gaurs but the area was closed. I asked an attendant about them and he told me it was calving season and cows were really aggressive at this time. He showed us where we could go to see them from about 50 yards. We stepped into view of the pens and this cow gaur with a small calf at her feet locked eyes with me and for 3-4 minutes, I don't even think she blinked. I know I would not want to repeat that event without that extremely secure fence between us. She was clearly signaling bad intentions.

If you haven't seen a gaur, you won't believe how big they are. They look like an American Bison on steroids.