Kampfwagen
Junior Member
Not to insult your moderating abilities, but I think that this dolphin is anything but happy right now.
sumdud, for Aquatic animals to be placed in a Zoo or Aquarium, especially ones that were so rare as the Chinese River Dolphin, the risks far outweighed the rewards. Ten to one says that any captive examples would have been very hard to maintain in captivity. But I like that idea. There are already several reported 'Sea Monsters' in the Rivers of China, such as Giant Red Salmon and Giant Frogs. So maybe the River Dolphin will join the ranks of the Tasmanian Tiger and Mokele-Embembe. No doubt people will report it for years to come.
Sampan. It is a lot more complicated than it seems, but I bet you already gathered that. Cloning is a risky procedure with a high attrition rate and the offspring usually have nervous issues later in life (Dolly died of neurological complications, if I remember correctly). On top of that, you need to find a similar genetic relative to carry the offspring in the case of Extinct Animals. This can be very difficult, especially with mammals and most especially Aquatic Animals. And raising Aquatic Animals is very difficult in general. And to make sure they have all the material needed, they may need more than a simple hair or skin sample. They typically need either Sperm or an Egg, then fertilize that with the parent animal. It is then that a hybrid animal is created and, over various generations, eventually becomes the genetically 'pure' original breed. And best of all, it is all theoretical.
But I hope we manage to do it some day.
Actually dolphins are one of the few animals believed to have sexual contact for purely recreational purposes, humans and chimps being the other obvious examples. :coffee: 