Mammoth cloning

[Newt]

To clarify: I don't think that re-wilding in general is infeasible. I think that the specific task of bringing back the mammoth steppes is infeasible. They're gone for good.

[Tyto_Theropod]

As I have said previously, I think Wrangel Island would be a good starting point.

[HD-man]

I dunno, myself I always smile at the people who say..." we will never" because as soon as they do , someone figures out how to bridge the gaps, connect the pieces and do exactly that. Not sure it will be in my lifetime, but there will be a day such an idea will be child'splay. I also think there is alot to be said for genetic memories and instinct that is inherent with any animal, and can be called on. Time will tell, but I think the naysayers will someday get to feast on the negatives.

That still doesn't explain the 2nd paragraph in the Switek quote. I'm specifically referring to how we're gonna "teach the first woolly mammoth to be a mammoth" & why we probably shouldn't clone something "that is adapted to cold, dry grasslands in an increasingly warming world."

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I dunno, myself I always smile at the people who say..." we will never" because as soon as they do , someone figures out how to bridge the gaps, connect the pieces and do exactly that. Not sure it will be in my lifetime, but there will be a day such an idea will be child'splay. I also think there is alot to be said for genetic memories and instinct that is inherent with any animal, and can be called on. Time will tell, but I think the naysayers will someday get to feast on the negatives.

That still doesn't explain the 2nd paragraph in the Switek quote. I'm specifically referring to how we're gonna "teach the first woolly mammoth to be a mammoth" & why we probably shouldn't clone something "that is adapted to cold, dry grasslands in an increasingly warming world."

As to the why in an increasingly warming world, I cannot offer an answer..but the first part of the statement I clearly did answer....as above.I think much of what would need be taught is instinct within a given animal.

[Newt]

There are at least a few people looking at cloning passenger pigeons. I'm more excited about that prospect, though it faces some of the same challenges.

[HD-man]

As to the why in an increasingly warming world, I cannot offer an answer..but the first part of the statement I clearly did answer....as above.

Not really. If mammoths are anything like elephants, they "must learn behavior as they grow up. They are not born with the instincts of how to survive.[Poole, Joyce (1996). Coming of Age with Elephants. Chicago, Illinois: Trafalgar Square. pp. 131–133, 143–144, 155–157. ISBN 0-340-59179-X.]"

[amargasaurus cazaui]

As to the why in an increasingly warming world, I cannot offer an answer..but the first part of the statement I clearly did answer....as above.

Not really. If mammoths are anything like elephants, they "must learn behavior as they grow up. They are not born with the instincts of how to survive.[Poole, Joyce (1996). Coming of Age with Elephants. Chicago, Illinois: Trafalgar Square. pp. 131–133, 143–144, 155–157. ISBN 0-340-59179-X.]"

They must learn behavior...like? Eating? I am sure they would figure that out....if they are cloned animals at enormous expense, I am sure they would be zoo kept and have handlers . Just how much do you require a kept and confined animal to learn? Just not sure that is really an issue with an animal that will cost a small fortune to bring back, and will not be set lose , or returned to the wild.
    If they are cloned, they likely wont be able to breed, but I am sure that even that behavior occurrs rather ...naturally. Just not alot they have to learn is there?

[Patrx]

Well, say some time in the distant future, a human were to be cloned and brought into a world with no surviving humans but itself. The creatures that cloned it could protect it, and it could probably figure out how to eat and so forth. It could survive or even be happy, but its overall behavior would be significantly different from that of a modern human, because none would be there to teach it. I don't suppose mammoth behavior is much less complicated than human behavior.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Well, say some time in the distant future, a human were to be cloned and brought into a world with no surviving humans but itself. The creatures that cloned it could protect it, and it could probably figure out how to eat and so forth. It could survive or even be happy, but its overall behavior would be significantly different from that of a modern human, because none would be there to teach it. I don't suppose mammoth behavior is much less complicated than human behavior.

Right I can see that point....but the question posed was cloning the animal itself......I was not trying to attempt to answer what comes next. If we solve the problems within the question there is no reason they could not clone a mammoth and it is just not reliant on being taught to be a mammoth. ........now if you wish to repopulate wild mammoth herds and somehow recreate their behavior that is another whole problem. The first one answers itself...Life finds a way.