Hey fabs I knew ya didn't mean nothin' by it, and I thought it was a good comparrison. (Also I agree Tsadler is a great memeber to have on this board and I happen to agree with her 99% of the time. )

Let me put it another way. If they are an independant species and not just a variation on a current species, and they are not man made, then yes something should be done to protect them.

HOWEVER if the are just a variation then I don't think they should be any more or less protected than normal animals. If you start that how long is it before you start protecting them based on hoof color, antler shape, of nostril size?

Again my 2 cents

GoodOlBoy

Species..
 

GoodOlBoy,

Interesting that you brought up the species issue... it's come up in other discussions as well. Here's the last email I sent over to the Ministry of Natural Resources regarding the subject. Awaiting a response. Anyone know the answer to the question?

"March 3, 2005 10:19:39 PM
To :
CC :

Bob,

Really enjoyed the informative conversation we had this afternoon. I just had one last question that I forgot to ask, which I'm hoping you can refer over to the biologists.

How does the MNR define 'species'?

So, what characteristics would the MNR need to find to characterize the white moose strain from Foleyet as a new species?

Also along those same lines, what is the difference between a 'black duck' and a 'mallard' ? Is a black duck considered a different species, or merely a sub-species? I'm just asking because the government has different guidelines regarding harvesting limits for these two types of ducks, yet they appear to be exactly the same with the difference being the darkness / color ... They can interbreed successfully ... I'm just trying to figure out why the government makes a distinction between the two types of ducks, and turn the idea to the white moose strain of Foleyet.

Also, I forgot to ask what options were on the table for protection measures... I.e. Protection from hunting? Live capture? Better yet, what options are not on the table at this point? "

Joel

Anyone else know the answer to the question?

Good Old Boy - "HOWEVER if the are just a variation then I don't think they should be any more or less protected than normal animals. If you start that how long is it before you start protecting them based on hoof color, antler shape, of nostril size?"

I guess it all depends why these variations are appearing? Many would say that ear lobe size doesn't matter, and shouldn't make a difference regading protection... but the different types of Elephants in Africa seem to indicate that it makes a huge difference, and its beneficial to have larger ears for cooling purposes.

It seems to be beneficial for many animals to have white fur pattens living in the north (polar bear, artic fox, artic rabbit) .... whereas the same pattern may not be so adapt for animals living in the south...

antler shape - what exactly is the difference between a mule deer and a white tail?

The real crux of the issue is that I'm not calling for an all out ban on hunting, I'm just talking about protecting 4 or 5 animals out of 100,000 ... Is that really too much to ask for?

Joel

Hey... I used to have a mohawk! A green one. You offend me, sir! :D

Re: Species..
 

seperation of species have been define by many things over the past years. I believe these days it is mostly as simple as a DNA test.

I just watched a special on red wolves that involved trying to capture the most pure bred of the species to keep in captivity to breed and then reintroduce a pure bred pack of animals, back into the wild. Back in the day when they did the capturing the biologists used skull
X-Rays to make determinations, because some red wolves had interbred with coyotes and therefore had lost the distinguishing skull features that only the RED wolf species had that other Wolves and Coyotes did not have. It was stated that Today they would have just used DNA testing.

Good luck on your mission. Personally I think anybody that is as iterested in the subject as you probably has nothing but good intentions, and since I haven't heard you make any broad Anti-Hunting or AntiGun comments I wish you luck in your endeavors

My thoughts on Hunting...
 

DaMadMan,

You're right assuming that I'm not anti-hunting... My parents run a tourist lodge in N.Ontario specializing in fly-in fishing and hunting trips...

Here's my personal photo-book.

http://whitemoose.ca/AuthorProfileJo...rProfile3.html

So i'll let you decide my opinion regarding fishing and hunting...

"It was stated that Today they would have just used DNA testing." - Pretty technical stuff for me... But very interested to figure out how it would work... I'm pretty sure that I can still get a frozen sample of meat from a white bull which was hit by the train a couple years ago. My buddy's dad got to keep it. That pic was taken about 5 miles from my house...


http://whitemoose.ca/pics/kidonmoose.bmp

Joel

Any other thoughts?

Joel

The white moose the native shot in Alberta was during the 1930's. I have never heard of them being sacred to natives out here, but an empty belly probably made the choice easy. There was a depression on and the natives were not in a good position to start with.

Joel I think the pics are great....I am still looking for my white gator....and when I find him he wont be protected....but I think we are talking two different things here....mine are albino....your moose are just cool......:) :) ;)