( of the American Southwest -- developed...)Proposal would allow wild animals to roam North America

of the American Southwest -- developed such blinding speed, clocking in at around 60 miles an hour. Introducing free-ranging African cheetahs back to the Southwest, the scientists assert, could restore strong interactions with pronghorns and provide endangered cheetahs with new habitat.
Other living species that are counterparts to Pleistocene-era animals in North America include feral horses (Equus caballus), wild asses (E. asinus), Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus), Asian (Elephas maximus) and African (Loxodonta africana) elephants and lions (Panthera leo).

"Obviously, gaining public acceptance is going to be a huge issue, especially when you talk about reintroducing predators," said the paper's lead author, Josh Donlan, a graduate student in Cornell's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, pointing to the controversy that raged when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995. "There are going to have to be some major attitude shifts. That includes realizing predation is a natural role, and that people are going to have to take precautions."
He said that using large tracts of private land are probably the most promising places to start, with each step carefully guided by the fossil record and the involvement of experts and research. "We are not advocating backing up a van and letting elephants and cheetahs out into the landscape," said Donlan. "All of this would be science driven."

A pilot study will test the rewilding notion by releasing the endangered Bolson tortoise on a private ranch in New Mexico. The tortoise, which can weigh up to 100 pounds and once thrived in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico, now only survives in a small area of northern Mexico.

Evidence shows that animals near the top of the food chain play important roles in structuring ecological systems and maintaining biodiversity, according to the paper. These keystone species -- ani
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Source:Cornell University News Service

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