Last wild hurricane palm of its kind falls, marking extinction
Last wild hurricane palm of its kind falls, marking extinction
The last wild Round Island hurricane palm, a rare tree native to Mauritius, snapped during a windstorm in mid-September, marking its extinction. Once thriving on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, the tree had stood alone for decades as the only survivor of its kind. Standing 9 meters (30 feet) tal...
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The trees’ decline began in the 19th century when British colonizers brought in animals like rabbits and goats. The invasive species overran the island’s ecosystem, eroding the topsoil that helps hold palm trees in place. By 1994, only two trees were left; one fell during a cyclone later that year.
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Oh come on, someone must have cloned it, it's relatively simple to do even after it's broken - plant stem cells are quite hardy. It's totally hobbyist-level technology. That way we could've filled the island with hundreds of these palms over a couple of years, they would've been clones, sure, but then cross-polinating a palm forest would've been a much simpler task, not mentioning that at least all the critters wouldn't have to be homeless.