Nanci
Alien Lover
This reminded me of a discussion I read here about snakes, where someone brought up the same point. I just can't remember where. But it's interesting.
Mary Cohen: What do you mean by "bloodline"?
Jeff Gee: A separate and unrelated group of animals is what I call a bloodline, like the term "pedigree". Of course you can't always tell the exact origin of the genetic material, because female tortoises can retain viable sperm for years before laying fertile eggs.
Mary Cohen: How do you view the question of "inbreeding"?
Jeff Gee: I have a theory about this: I feel inbreeding occurs in nature. In many isolated areas, and on islands certainly, populations of animals stay in a specific area and interbreed freely. Natural selection culls the weak individuals. A case can be made that it is unnatural to always breed unrelated animals, because you are likely to be mixing gene pools.
Of course, in captivity, animals that are in some way deformed or not up to standards should not be allowed to breed. These individuals would probably not be able to reproduce in the wild.
Entire Interview
Mary Cohen: What do you mean by "bloodline"?
Jeff Gee: A separate and unrelated group of animals is what I call a bloodline, like the term "pedigree". Of course you can't always tell the exact origin of the genetic material, because female tortoises can retain viable sperm for years before laying fertile eggs.
Mary Cohen: How do you view the question of "inbreeding"?
Jeff Gee: I have a theory about this: I feel inbreeding occurs in nature. In many isolated areas, and on islands certainly, populations of animals stay in a specific area and interbreed freely. Natural selection culls the weak individuals. A case can be made that it is unnatural to always breed unrelated animals, because you are likely to be mixing gene pools.
Of course, in captivity, animals that are in some way deformed or not up to standards should not be allowed to breed. These individuals would probably not be able to reproduce in the wild.
Entire Interview