• Question: Will we have new animals in the future?

    Asked by lollipoplover to Akram, David, Gill, Jack, laurenceharwood on 20 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Gill Menzies

      Gill Menzies answered on 20 Mar 2012:

      There are lots of possibilities for new animals – it is possible to make cross-breed animals and animal hybrids. Examples of these include the Zebroid (cross between horse and zebra), the Liger (Lion and Tiger), the Beefalo (buffalo and cow) and the Cama (Camel and Llama). Sometimes hybrids happen in nature and you get a new resillient animal that can withstand more extreme temperatures, or eat different foods, or live at different altitudes. When they are manmade we need to be very careful about our ethical reasons for doing this – we may create an animal that is in constant discomfort or which can’t protect itself in the wild….. 🙁

    • Photo: Akram Alomainy

      Akram Alomainy answered on 20 Mar 2012:

      I believe so since all the time we here about new species being discovered!! Also, undersea world is still a young area to explore and there are areas and limits humans have not reached yet so once we do I am sure we will find lots of amazing new species and animals 🙂

    • Photo: Jack Snape

      Jack Snape answered on 20 Mar 2012:

      Over thousands of years, its very likely that animals will evolve to look very different from the animals we have today – especially if humans keep changing the environment. Animals with characteristics that help them survive in the new environment will be more likely to survive and have baby animals … this will lead to adaptation and probably new animals 🙂

    • Photo: Laurence Harwood

      Laurence Harwood answered on 21 Mar 2012:

      Do you mean discoveries of new species? That is happening all the time although mainly in the insect world. One of my good friends is Dr George McGavin (the mad entomlogist in TV natural history series such as “Lost Land of the Jaguar”) is always discovering new insects. If you discover an insect you can use your name for the second part of its latin name, so there are lots of ******** mcgavinensis. He has promised to name an insect after me. He is a great scientist but totally bonkers. Look him up at:

      http://www.georgemcgavin.co.uk/

      As for larger animals, I think a species of small deer was discovered in the rain forests of Sumatra a year or so ago

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