Slashdot Mirror
Deodorant Sought to Save New Zealand's Native Birds
New Zealand researchers have received a NZ$600,000 grant to develop a deodorant for native birds whose strong odors make them easy targets for introduced predators. Since the birds evolved without any mammal predators they emit a very strong odor compared to birds in other parts of the world. Canterbury University researcher Jim Briskie says kiwis smell like mushrooms or ammonia, while kakapo parrots have a hint of "musty violin case."
are we going to just deodorize them for the rest of time? i understand that it's probably our introduction of predators, but other than preservation in a zoo, how is it any way feasible or practical to deodorize them?
Also, one would imagine if they tasted good, New Zealand would long ago have started farming them and introduced "New Zealand Fried Kakapo" restaurants all over.
I suppose it would be bad for them to all die, but I'm not sure why, exactly.
Species go extinct all the time. They did it before humans, they'll do it after humans. Some of them do it to themselves, some succumb to natural climate shifts, some wind up as dinner due to an evolution by a predator. One good volcanic eruption can take out a whole bunch of them - and if it burns up most of the plant material on the island, the herbivores are pretty much doomed.
Humans are the most arrogant idiotic species on the planet: we're so damn arrogant we actually think we can save species of animals from the normal course of change, e.g. extinction.
I suppose it would be bad for them to all die, but I'm not sure why, exactly.
Wow, what's not to understand here?
It's #2 that's key, and it doesn't require being a "hippie" to get it. Even non-hippies manage to keep a clean house. Is that sentiment so hard to grok?
that it isn't going to help the kiwi in the long run, but you must remember, the kiwi is the symbol of national pride here. I'm sure you americans would have no problem spending squillions if the opportunity presented itself to retain the bald eagle.
Instead of deodorizing the birds, they should just make a synthetic version of the smell and spray it all around the island, confusing the predators because the smell is everywhere.
Um, I'm pretty sure the "native" word was to make clear that while now there are predators, they didn't get there on their own power.
Not yet.
I'm going to guess "no". The point is, it's a guess, just like your comment is a guess. Humans have intentionally or unintentionally introduced a lot of species into places where they would almost certainly would never have reached (ie, the birds would have died out before the cats came or the cats would have evolved and been a different species by the time they reached the islands). I think it's a bit too simple to act like humans aren't responsible for what has happened.
Or, you know, it could be that nature made good evolutionary choices. You know those feral cats killing the birds? What happens when all the birds die out? Yea, they might just all die out unless humans start feeding them (possibly with imported meat). There's a reason there's often not many, if any, largish mammals on islands: there's generally too much isolation for prey to move away resulting in large predator die-offs when their food supply runs low. Maybe the feral cats or rats will be small enough to survive. But it's not like the birds made a "bad evolutionary choice". You make it sound like they took the wrong path on a road or went out gambling and lost it big on the roulette. :)
Eurohacker European paranoia, gun rights, and h
Someday, when feral cats learn to make boats stocked up with provisions and sail thousands of miles across the ocean.