Part 2 - Life Finds a Way …13 Creatures That Didn’t Exist 100 Years Ago

Life finds a way…that’s a quote from the movie, Jurassic Park.The scientists from Colossal want to bring back extinct animals like the dire wolf. Someone from Animal Planet wrote a cautionary post so fascinating I had to write about it too.

                 The Link: https://www.rindabeach.com/blog/game-of-thrones-are-dire-wolves-back
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I just found a post from Animals Around the Globe that makes that quote even more true. Here are 13 creatures that now exist because somehow, life found a way.

                                                That link: 13 Creatures That Did Not Exist 100 Years Ago


                                                                                            #4. Glofish

​Meet the first genetically modified animals to be sold as pets. They hit stores in 2003. A few common kinds—zebrafish, tetras, and tiger barbs. Their colors—red, green, orange, blue, and purple. Put them under ultraviolet light, and their color is spectacular.
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Would you believe glofish didn’t begin as pets? Scientists at the National University of Singapore designed them to monitor the environment. They took genes from bioluminescent jellyfish and sea anemones and put them into zebrafish. There are some arguments over how they were created, but it also shows how technology can create new life. 



                                                                                            #5. Ligers and Tigons
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Liger from Novosibirsk Zoo, Russia, and Maude the tigon from the Manchester Museum, England.

Ligers and Tigons, oh my! They’re magnificent and man-made. Ligons have lion fathers and tiger mothers, and Tigons have tiger fathers and lion mothers.

But neither animal could exist in the wild—they’re from different parts of the world, plus they often have health problems. Add in that it’s difficult for them to reproduce. Sometimes female ligers and tigons can have cubs, but males rarely can. No wonder they’re a controversial animal that only exists in zoos.

Fun fact—Ligers are known for their size. The world’s biggest cat, Hercules. He stands 11 feet tall on his hind legs and weighs over 900 pounds. He is ONE, BIG cat!



                                                                                                      #6. Beefalo

​Can you guess this hybrid? It’s part cow and part buffalo, and it was dreamed up on purpose. Cattlemen have been trying since the 1880s, and they finally did it in the 1970s…3/8 buffalo and 5/8 cow. This one is supposed to be a bull, but where are the horns? My source showed one that was part Texas longhorn. That beefalo HAD HORNS!

Beefalo have some real advantages. Their meat has less fat, cholesterol, and calories, and it’s higher in protein. Beefalo have the hardiness of the buffalo, but they’re docile, make milk and baby calves like cows do. Beefalo love cold weather, and they’ll thrive on cheaper forage.
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I’ve never heard of beefalo meat, but I read The American Beefalo Association registers thousands of them every year. Maybe someday I’ll find it at the grocery store!
 
                                                                   Tomorrow: Three new incredible creatures