Bring back the saber-tooth tigers, too 

I like Edward Murray’s tongue-in-cheek idea of reintroducing grizzly bears to our area (“Why is Oprah so anti-grizzly?” March 3). It’s actually a dumb idea, but the environmental community and federal biologists are engaging in other similar stupid ideas. So why not
this one?

Take for example, the effort to relocate sea otters to San Nicolas Island in Ventura County 25 years ago. Despite government-sponsored research, which indicated this would not work and that sea otters would swim away, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spent millions, lost hundreds of sea otters, and destroyed several valuable fisheries. But it was a noble “experiment,” wasn’t it?

The same federal agency has also spent millions trying to re-create the prehistoric condor and reintroduce it to Big Sur and the Grand Canyon. Gray wolves are also being spread around the country. So why not the grizzly? Of course, it could be life threatening to the public, or children and pets, but hey, it’s precious and endangered wildlife!

Maybe these noble scientist should look at cloning a few dinosaurs while they are at it. Maybe a few saber-tooth tigers, too. That could be cool!

Way to go, Edward!

-- Steve Rebuck - San Luis Obispo