Species. Let me explain.
For example, the Guam Rail is extinct in the wild because of the Brown Tree Snake. Meanwhile, the Hawaiian, Laysan and Wake Island Rails are all extinct, for different reasons. Could introducing the Guam Rail to one of these islands work? The Wake Island rail was extirminated by hungry soldiers in WWII, and the Laysan Rail was victim of habitat destruction by rabbits, but the rabbits have been exterminated, so the Guam Rail would not be threatened by those.
So, the Guam Rail ‘could’ be helped by filling an ecological niche, thereby probably helping (or at least not hurting) the island it’s introduced to. Of course, whether or not it survives is still a question, but research beforehand would probably fix/help that.
But, yeah- has there been any thought of helping an endangered species by having it ‘replace’ a similar extinct species to increase it’s numbers?
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Have Environmentalists Ever Considered Helping An Endangered Species By Introducing It To Replace An Extinct..?
Posted on November 4, 2011.
G’day Masternachos.
Thank you for your question.
Yes. For example, colonies of the endangered Tasmanian devil have been started in mainland Australia to help repopulate its population if a deadly contagious cancer wipes it out.
However, caution is often used in introducing a new species as this can often have unintended consequences as with the cane toad in Australia.
Regards
Regards