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Land of Monsters; What if the Aborigines never tamed it?
Topic Started: Jun 6 2010, 08:45 PM (2,246 Views)
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This concept isn't much "alternative evolution" as it is alternate history, but since it deals with an outcome of an incredibly different environment, I feel it could go here.

As is known, Australia used to have terrifying creatures roaming around about 40,000 years ago, such as (but not limited to) giant wombats, carnivorous kangaroos, land-dwelling crocodiles, and a bird that was bigger than the moa. However, it seems that when the Australian Aborigines rolled around to the island, bringing with them their "technique" of burning grasslands to clear space, most of the megafauna died out. By the time the British rolled in, few creatures got to be bigger than the Grey Kangaroo, or the emu.

So, I present an alternative: What if the Aborigines never arrived? What if Australia remained uninhabited by a permanent race, and the whites were the first people to ever settle there? What might happen to the biodiversity, and how might this have changed the face of modern science?
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dialforthedevil
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I mean would New Zealand be isolated as well? no moaris?
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Meh, I was only concerned with Australia.

And another note, on adding potency to Megalania: it's a very, very big reptile. But, if it was anything like its relative, the Komodo Dragon, it wouldn't be very fast, very strong, or very durable against people.
However (and this is a stretch), what if Megalania possessed the same hunting technique as the Komodo Dragon? What if it carried in its saliva both contagious diseases and a hemmoraging venom?
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dialforthedevil
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if it had that sort of venom then i think humanity would have a very serious contender to our dominance and i think that would be a thing which would probably force the colonists to demand a more serious military presence and this could result in two outcomes:
either the colonists would be left to their own will and be left to rot abandoned due to the emire wanting to spend money where it is needed...
or more troops are sent and we could end up with a highly militarised Australia
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It would probably result into a huge culling of Megalania.
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dialforthedevil
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yeah but i reckon that they would probably survive in the interior....
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Of course. There might be a similar culling, though, of the other big reptiles.

Especially Quinkana.
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dialforthedevil
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yes of course but i reckon the colonies would remain quite small as soon as word gets out that there is a land stalked by gigantic monsters nobody will want to move there. Although i think that the elephant birds and diprotodons could be domesticated after a while. Cattle could not feasibly be raised in such a land
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But why not? It worked for the Ice Age peoples.

Besides, the colonists have guns. They'll be challenged, not totally dominated.
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dialforthedevil
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ahhh but word spread far faster then and it would only take a few tales (true or not) of killings and then people will not move there. Would you ever consider raising a family somewhere which is stalked by a 7 metre long monster???
Do you think that elephant birds and diprotodons could be domesticated though?
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Ddraig Goch
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Well, perhaps we can have a bit of Wales and Ireland with us?

Well, the English already technically own us, given that we are a principality.

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Besides, the colonists have guns. They'll be challenged, not totally dominated.

They already had early machine guns (more like turrets, but still), I think, by the time they colonised Australia. A Megalania would probably take a while to bring down, but it would be possible.

And as for domesticating Diprotodon, I think that makes sense. Why transport cows across oceans on ships, waste energy setting up farmland and anti-predator defenses, and then hope that the cattle aclimatise, when one could simply corrall a few local mega herbivores? If the colonists managed to grab a few Diprotodon young (cubs?), then domestication should be easy.
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Well, of course not. That wouldn't outright prevent people from colonizing Australia, though, just keep them in the safe coastal cities.

And no, I don't think we could do that. Have you ever tried domesticating indigenous life as a farm animal? It's very difficult. If we followed that philosophy, we'd have buffalo and deer in American farms rather than cows.
Edited by Practically Uninformed, Jun 10 2010, 03:58 PM.
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dialforthedevil
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well we havent ever tried domesticating marsupials so i guess nobody will ever know but the elephant birds could be raised like gignatic chickens :D
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Ook
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there are some few farms in mine country,i dont think that diprotodont could be domesticated
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I'd imagine that, while economical, no one would want to take such a ghastly option.
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Elephant birds lived in Madagascar not Australia, you're thinking of Geyornis.
Diprotodon could be domisticated, but they would probably stick with their more traditonal sheep and cattle, at least at first.
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