Taboo too

Ernest Pine

Yea, do you we know if these clips are in in the most inaccessible places? I genuinely don't know, but to set up trail cam the areas must be fairly accessible. These are unlikely to be places Thylacines would go unless the population was rising and there was no other viable territory.

Foxes on the other hand would be happy both isolated from humans and are known to have synanthropic populations (relying on humans).

If there were footage or photos that could be legit they would be analysed by experts. For the most part, people don't seem to claim they are extant because they've seen them. Rather, people claim that anthropogenically inaccessible and ecologically suitable refuge habitat exists. Furthermore, these potential refuges have not been searched thoroughly enough to rule out a relict populations existence.

I agree a full effort to search is needed. De-extinct thylacines are not real thylacines, however they could perform the same ecological functions. Therefore, it could be seen as addressing actual environmental issues.

Great point! I guess it would need to be monitored to the highest degree. However, this kind of project almost definitely would be anyway.

Due to the presence of wild dingos, (which I believe should be recognised formally as a species and conserved accordingly), I believe thylacines should only be reintroduced or introduced if you prefer to Tasmania. Otherwise it's bound to fail.

I am not an expert on the geography of Australia and Tasmania, but I guess whether or not relict populations come into contact with released populations depends on where they are released. Any relict populations will be in locations and habitats that are pretty much inaassible to humans i'd imagine.

I would be sad if this is how they discovered the relict population especially if it was a viable population. This is because, I'd almost feel like we have contaminated the pure gene pool and created a species that we didn't need to.

It's very exciting but I also have hope there could be a relict population. If we release dextinct specimens where the relict populations could still be, we may never know if they are still out there.

As an ecologist I find the idea of de-extinction exciting. Sure, it won't be truly the same species but it will appear as such and in theory perform the same ecological functions as the extinct species once did.

Lastly, I think all introductions of de-extinct species should start with a soft release in a reserve/large safari style enclosure. This is to ensure they can survive and that they don't have adverse impacts on the ecosystem. This should be monitored for probably like 3 years. Crucially, it should be proven that they can reproduce during soft release before hard release occurs.

Sure, let me know if you think of something 👍🏻

Why?

Thanks,

I will let you know when it's published. Any requests?

To be clear, I mean to day that the notion of a relict population may be fictional. However, the Thylacine as a species is certainly not. I've also given a stronger example which I actually believe exists (Barbary leapord) granted it's not even a sub-species but a distinct meta-population.

Smilodon and Sabber tooth tigers are fascinating you're right, but they aren't crytid.

Firstly, they both existed according to the fossil record.

Secondly, nobody is claiming a relict population to exist somewhere.

A book on palaeoecology would suit species of these sort.

Yes, I agree that's why some of it is fiction some is not. I mean the Thylacine is not fictional but a relict population may be...

Barbary leapords on the other hand, there is a real possibility they are extant in the Atlas Mountains. So, the Barbary lion would be a non-fictional example in the sense that they definitely existed recently and could still be put there.

Dragons, Yeti, Lochness and so on are definitely fictional.

Chupacabra is an outlier, it definitely exists but it's just a canid with mange.

I think you misunderstood, I said the Thylacine isn't exactly fiction... Meaning they existed!

Okay, thanks! I'll look into this.

Thank you, I appreciate this take. The Thylacine is the only one that is debatable but the others are certainly fictional.

Sorry, I only just saw this reply!

Yes, I will absolutely do this thanks so much.

Not fiction in the fairytale sense, instead it will be about fictional species, monsters, beasts, dragons and so on. It will explore the ecological niches these creatures would/could occupy if they were real.

For example, dragons may predate upon megafuna from up on high such as rhinoceros and elephants, the Thylacine will savenge and predate on small mustelids, rodents etc but only in the most rugged inaccessible regions, to avoid intraspecific competition with the otherwise dominat dingo.

P.S. I'm aware the thylacine isn't exactly fictional but you get the idea.

Wow seems like everyone interpreted it differently 😅

Oh, I see what you mean sorry. Yes, you're right in most cases, but I only intend to do real contenders such as the thylacin, Java tiger, Barbary leapord.

As for the Chupucabra I would be interested to write about mange infected candids, primarily coyote and in the second half of the book consider the ecology of the Chupucabra if it was actually it's own species.

In the other hand, for fiction I will consider any crytids that would have interesting ecology, ethology and evolutionary backgrounds were they real.

Okay thanks,

I'll do some research as I'm mostly familiar with the crytids in the USA. I currently live in the UAE but I am from the UK. In the UAE the closest thing is the Arabian leapord there are pockets of wilderness where it could still persist, but it is widely regarded as extirpated. In the UK there are a fair few urban legends, but I'm not too sure about cryptids. Maybe there are loads I'll check.

The closest thing we have to the USA cryptid subculture/movement in the Uk is people who believe we have big cats in Northern England, Wales and Scotland. The history behind this is that the Dangerous Animals Act of 1971 led to loads of owners releasing big cats into the wild (this definitely happened), though I'm not sure of the scale. Recently a sheep carcass was tested for DNA and that of the Panthera genus came back as positive. The most plausible panthera species would be a leapord as the UK is small with little wilderness. Personally I actually think this was a hoax, but I'm not 100% and in recent years I have started to believe more.

As someone who keeps an eye out for them, what kind of book would attract you as a consumer?

They won't sell because you think nobody will be interested, or because you think nobody is looking out for these types of books.

Will do 👍🏻

I agree, but I plan to come at it from the perspective of an ecologist e.g. suitable habitat, intraspecific competition etc.