AssertUtf8: ä
Name: Big5
Aliases: []
Year: 2141
Title: "Africa's Big 5 Move to South America"
ShortTitle: Big 5 in South America
Short: "Due to the decline of nature reserves in Africa, conservationists are relocating endangered large wildlife species to the Amazon savannah in South America to ensure their survival."
Headline: "Amazon Savannah: Salvation for Africa's Wildlife"
Post: "2141 Africa's Big 5 Move to South America. Due to the decline of nature reserves in Africa, conservationists are relocating endangered large wildlife species to the Amazon savannah in South America to ensure their survival... more: https://www.galactic-developments.de/Timeline/Big5?lang=en-US"
Twitter: "2141 Africa's Big 5 Move to South America. Due to the decline of nature reserves in Africa, conservationists are relocating endangered large wildlife species to the Amazon savannah in South America to ensure their survival... more: https://www.galactic-developments.de/Timeline/Big5?lang=en-US"
Image: en_2141_Big5.jpg
Author: Heiner Wolf
Translation: Heiner Wolf, Rosmarie Wolf
Tags: [_new_en, _carousel, Earth, Animals, Genetics, Ecology, Big5]
Topics: [ecology]
Text: |
    The African megafauna is being resettled in the Amazonian savanna.
    In the last 200 years, Africa's nature reserves have undergone a significant reduction, with most giving way to human activities as early as the 21st century. Sadly, many of Africa's magnificent large animals are endangered or already extinct in the wild, with the leopard being on the brink of extinction, and only small genetically-reduced groups existing in zoos. Buffalos and rhinos have vanished from their natural habitats, though they are kept as livestock for their meat, milk, and horns. Currently, only African elephants and lions still reside in natural reserves. But both species are heavily "managed": their movements are controlled, and their reproduction is artificially supported. In case of the leopard only cloning and gene-editing might prevent the complete extinction of the species. Other large species such as wildebeest, zebra, antelopes, and cheetahs are facing a similarly dire fate.
    South America has a relatively low population density that is comparable to Africa in the 20th century, whereas the African continent is now nearly four times as densely populated. The deforestation of the Amazon rainforest has transformed the region into a savanna with a climate similar to that of central Africa. Regrettably, due to the scarcity of water, only a portion of the Amazon can be utilized for agricultural purposes, leaving the remainder as a dry savanna that is primarily used for harnessing solar energy.
    In the 2120s, Animais Selvagens del Mundo, an animal protection organization, successfully persuades regional governments to designate large nature reserves in the Amazon that are suitable for African megafauna species. After two decades of meticulous analysis and preparation, numerous African species are relocated to these new reserves. The adjustment of the food chain is significantly aided by modern genetic engineering, known as gengineering. Over the next few years, in addition to the Big 5, wildebeest, zebra, antelopes and gazelles are also successfully resettled. The South American jaguar replaces the then extinct African leopard. 
    Africa loses its last megafauna in the early 23th century. But thanks to the resettlement, many large species survive in the nature reserves of South America.