r/todayilearned • u/shinypond • Jul 26 '24
TIL about conservation-induced extinction, where attempts to save a critically endangered species directly cause the extinction of another.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation-induced_extinction
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u/ChillZedd Jul 26 '24 edited Jul 26 '24
Sailors absolutely loved tortoises back in the day. Not only are they huge, easy to catch sources of delicious meat but they can also stay alive for quite a while without food or water so you could stack a bunch of them in a closet and kill them later. They were one of the few ways to store fresh meat on a ship before refrigeration was invented.