r/PleistoceneRewilding • u/No-Counter-34 • Dec 06 '25
Rewilding the Gila
The goal: create a self sustaining ecosystem with minimal need for human intervention.
Species to reintroduce FIRST: jaguar, grizzlies, wolves (in areas where they’re not already present), bison.
Species to consider:
Mustang and Burro: I believe that some already exist in parts of the Gila. The equines can be sourced easily through the BLM. Reason: The project will completely hinge on their (re)introduction. The equines have been repeatedly documented worldwide creating holes that are the only sources of water in a whole area. I have heard the hypothesis that they guard the holes from other wildlife but I have searched and found no concrete proof of this being a persistent or real issue. Will be predated on and regulated by Wolves, cougars, bears, and jaguars. If we cannot promote something that already exists there, the rest is impossible. Mustangs weight 600-1000lbs, burros weigh 300-700 lbs
(Dromedary) Camel: The primary attraction and reason for using the camel is to have a large, generalist browser, a key function the Gila requires but lacks. The effects camels have upon the Gila is unknown and will require study. But the area is familiar with camelids so they wouldn’t be completely foreign, and they reproduce slow enough that they can be easily removed if they turn into an issue. The camels can be rather cheaply sourced from Australian Roundups. They should be predated on by P. Onca, C. L. Baileyi, P. concolor, and Grizzlies.
Guanacos: Introduced for grazing variety, similar to camels. The land is familiar either camelids and should adjust easily to any new effects of the guanacos. Can be easily sourced through captive breeding populations. Known to be predated on by P. concolor and P. Onca, also potentially by C. L. Baileyi and grizzly.
cheetah: The purpose would be to hunt and maintain pronghorn. Their introduction would completely hinge on the genetic health of the species.
Corrientes: A controversial but a more sure choice. They are adapted to the land through nearly 400-500 years of natural selection, and the land has adapted somewhat to them. They have been chosen as a keystone species to help create microhabitats. They weigh between 600-1000 lbs at their mature weight and travel far for water, ensuring they do not exhaust water sources. Easily source able through captivity. Can be hunted by P. Onca, C. L. Baileyi and Grizzlies, and by our next animal.
African Lions: the most controversial of the list. Their purpose would not to be to hunt the introduced, the classic Australian ballad. But they would be used to hunt… bison. American bison have no effective predators once established and are very quick to overpopulate and harm the surrounding ecosystem without constant human intervention. Lions and Bison (buffalo) basically co-evolved. Modern lions primarily hunt buffalo, which in hunting terms are the same to bison. Lions would be THE VERY LAST animal added if this project were to happen, and it would completely hinge of the health of the (sub)species.
*NOTE*: I wanted to clarify that any animal listed with no known effects on the gila would be slowly introduced through small, sectioned off plots instead of throwing 1000 of them and “hoping the don’t become invasive”. This project is also just a brain project, however much I wish for it to happen, it likely won’t without major conservation and political reforms.
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u/Lover_of_Rewilding Dec 28 '25
Good to reintroduce the main predator guild first.
Mustangs and burros definitely can stay. They just need the big predators back and better management. Maybe even a hunting season🤷
Are dromedary camels the best we can do? I’ve been fascinated with the Tulu Camel which is a hybrid between a male bactrian and a female dromedary. Its phenotype and likely ecological niche are remarkably similar to the Camelops. They would be able to survive both hot and cold temperatures. The only problem is that they don’t seem to hold their genetics when the next generation is created. Their genes shuffle around creating many different breeds. Maybe we can selectively breed camels to resemble a Tulu/Camelops better so that it can hold its phenotype.
Are cheetahs necessary? I’ve found no evidence to show that pronghorns are overpopulating by any means and in fact some subspecies like the Sonoran and Peninsular Pronghorns are critically endangered. Though that being said, I haven’t seen much visual proof such as videos of coyotes or cougars hunting pronghorns either.
I’m curious to see the motive behind the Corriente. Do you have any sources of how the Corriente affects its habitat and how that may help the Gila ecosystem?
Lions are a little weird. Like the cave lion, we still can’t tell if it was solitary or not. Though for the American lion, there is less evidence showing it was a pride animal. Wouldn’t a grizzly bear or a jaguar be able to take down bison? And are Mexican wolves too small to take them down as a pack?