OT: They want to kill the Albino Moose!

[gunug]

Naturalists in Norway want to kill a rare albino moose before it breeds and weakens the population!  

QUOTE

"That so many people want the white moose to live is an emotional issue. It is exciting to have such a rarity rustling around. But if it is spared we risk the moose’s breeding qualities spreading. Soon we might two, three, four or five albino moose in these wooded areas, something which in the long run can weaken the herd," said Brommdal, who pointed out that an albino moose is really a kind of ‘mistake’.

from: http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1484132.ece

[D76]

Yeah, we have to get rid of everything alive that could weaken the group. No room for imperfections and "mistakes," especially when money is the concern. Work is freedom.

[gunug]

I think it's possible we should "cull" the herd of game wardens; send some into town to pick up trash or something.  At the very least maybe we could capture the moose and see how healthy it is; haven't these people ever seen Wild Kingdom?

[Gregg]

Maybe they could put the moose to work as a corporate symbol or to pitch a product....    

[Paddy]

The stupid thing is - albino variations occur occasionally in most species and as far as I know they have never become dominant, so could never "weaken the herd." Albino moose and deer are far more likely to be the victims of predation at an early age because they lack the protective coloring of the "normal" young. If they also have some of the other physical defects (poor hearing, poor eyesight) quite common with albinism, then they are even LESS likely to survive to adulthood or breeding age. So even without the hunters running around in the woods, shooting a stunning 150,000 moose a year in Scandinavia, the chances of this moose actually reproducing and having albino offspring (who go on to survive and reproduce) is quite slim. Hunting down this particular moose hardly seems necessary - but then, nor does specifically protecting it.

[D76]

It also could be a PR stunt to boost revenues by attracting more hunters. Like tourism, hunting is a big-bucks industry.
 
 If it isn't shot this year, next year they'll paint a target on it — if it exists.

[Gregg]

QUOTE(Paddy @ Oct 10 2006, 07:35 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hunting down this particular moose hardly seems necessary - but then, nor does specifically protecting it.

So if logic is a draw, go with the emotion.

Is it cute??

[gunug]

I think we ought to save him and help him to breed (sort of a albino moose dating service) and develop a race of albino moose.  I'm up for it!  

QUOTE

So if logic is a draw, go with the emotion.

Is it cute??

How could it not be cute; unless it has those pink eyes!    I hate pink eyes on anything!  Maybe contact lens would fix that though!

[Paddy]

Cute? A moose? Maybe to its mother...
It's been said that if a camel is a horse designed by a committee, a moose must have been designed by a committee doing some heavy drinking. - (http://www.rollingthunderexpress.com/columnsarchive/numb/numb979.htm)

Most albino people have blue or gray eyes. Don't know about moose though...And he might need the contact lenses for other reasons - most albinos have fairly poor eyesight!! (Now, can you sit him down and get him to read the eye chart??)

[gunug]

I wasn't referring to albino people but albino mice and bunnies!  

[Gregg]

One of our vacations a few years ago was to the boundary waters area of Minnesota. We saw lots of "Moose Xing" signs, but not a single moose. We took drives at dusk, but no luck.