5 ms·
I was curious why we don't hear about locust swarms anymore in the US Turns out this species - the Rocky Mountain locust was made accidentally extinct by sett
by wyum 6mo ago
I was curious why we don't hear about locust swarms anymore in the US
Turns out this species -
the Rocky Mountain locust was made accidentally extinct by settlers. Although the swarms could be huge, they had a small and concentrated breeding ground that was destroyed by farming and cows. Wikipedia says the last specimen was collected in 1904.
- r721 6mo agoSo, to de-extinct them probably would be too controversial as they were a pest? >The locusts not only ate the grass and valuable crops, but also leather, wood, sheep's wool, and—in extreme cases—even clothes off peoples' backs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_locust#Last_major_swarm_(1873%E2%80%931877) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_locust#Last_maj... What if a mad scientist would do that? :) UPD Found a reddit discussion on the topic: https://old.reddit.com/r/megafaunarewilding/comments/17gxmux/a_deextinction_candidate_that_nobody_is_talking/ https://old.reddit.com/r/megafaunarewilding/comments/17gxmux...