Alright, who dumped their pets?

Saw this in the news today, now own up, which one of you has been dumping their excess eggs and larvae/unwanted pets and giving scientists false hope?

Axolotl found in the Mexico city lake Xochimilco after fears it only survived in captivity - Environment - The Independent

I have often wondered what would happen if we released unwanted eggs into the wild, if you would be disposing of them anyway. Ecosystems are fragile but it would be cool to bring this species back from extinction in a non-captive, albeit non-native, habitat.

Yeah, let's not release non-native species..

NadeZ said:

I have often wondered what would happen if we released unwanted eggs into the wild

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In most countries you'd get arrested.

These rules are there for a reason and I'm not suggesting that people do this. But now that wild axolotls are on the brink of extinction, it would be good to see this option thoroughly investigated to see if axolotls could be safely introduced to appropriate habitats.


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NadeZ said:

These rules are there for a reason and I'm not suggesting that people do this. But now that wild axolotls are on the brink of extinction, it would be good to see this option thoroughly investigated to see if axolotls could be safely introduced to appropriate habitats.


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No matter where we introduce them they will never be the same as the original because the environmental pressures would not be the exact same as the original lake. Every time in the past that an animal was released in a new habitat for good intentions, almost always led to overpopulation (ask australia about cane toads and rabbits). Even in america with the so called re-introduction of wolves (they are actually a larger sub-species from canada) to yellow stone is not ending well as nearby states are seeing more and more wolves looking for food when there shouldn't be any.

Boomsloth said:

No matter where we introduce them they will never be the same as the original because the environmental pressures would not be the exact same as the original lake. Every time in the past that an animal was released in a new habitat for good intentions, almost always led to overpopulation (ask australia about cane toads and rabbits). Even in america with the so called re-introduction of wolves (they are actually a larger sub-species from canada) to yellow stone is not ending well as nearby states are seeing more and more wolves looking for food when there shouldn't be any.

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The thing about that is they re introduced a species back and it's being seen in other states it also used to be native to. Wolves were native to almost all of the US and them spreading is not a bad thing they are not going anywhere wolves didn't live a few hundred years ago. farmers do get upset about them but they lose few animals to them and we could easily live with them easier if we just set up nicer fences around farms

Dragonfire said:

The thing about that is they re introduced a species back and it's being seen in other states it also used to be native to. Wolves were native to almost all of the US and them spreading is not a bad thing they are not going anywhere wolves didn't live a few hundred years ago. farmers do get upset about them but they lose few animals to them and we could easily live with them easier if we just set up nicer fences around farms

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I can only go by what my girlfriend's father (who hunts around the world) has talked about with me saying that the ranchers around the area of yellowstone and even in idaho where they also released them have trouble with these wolves. They are all canis lupus but the ones taken from way up north in canada had much harsher conditions and adapted to it. I remember watching a documentary about these canadian gray wolves bringing down a buffalo. Imagine being adapted to that then all of a sudden being thrown into a place filled with food half that size and way easier to take down. Think about it like switching from golden retrievers to german shepherds.

There have been many studies suggesting the recovery of Yellowstone has been initiated by the re-introduction of wolves. The wolves mainly predate deer, which were causing the whole ecosystem to change with uncontrolled grazing pressure on the forests. Now herds are healthier (wolves target weaker/older animals), and the forests are recovering, benefiting all the native species that live there. It's a good example of wildlife management that works, and despite losses of livestock it is surely preferable to the broken ecosystem Yellowstone used to represent. If proper management of the wolf population continues, then losses of livestock will be minimal anyway, because if given the option wolves hunt their natural prey rather than coming into close proximity with humans.

Reintroduction of an extinct species is not a bad thing, and dumping eggs would be the correct way to do it, however, if there is an extant population you would be doing them irrevocable harm. A reintroduced species is an artificial one. I believe this the point of the wolf example, though positive, it is not the same wolf that was lost.

Boomsloth said:

No matter where we introduce them they will never be the same as the original because the environmental pressures would not be the exact same as the original lake. Every time in the past that an animal was released in a new habitat for good intentions, almost always led to overpopulation (ask australia about cane toads and rabbits). Even in america with the so called re-introduction of wolves (they are actually a larger sub-species from canada) to yellow stone is not ending well as nearby states are seeing more and more wolves looking for food when there shouldn't be any.

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Not to mention the European Carp which infests our rivers. They feed off our native fish eggs, muddy up the water and cause chaos. If we catch one while fishing, it's even illegal to throw it back into the water. They must be killed (humanely).
Horrible, but I'd hate to see something like this happen to axolotls.