Interesting question about ‘reviving’ an extinct species and the reactions of other species to it. I think there would have to be a learning curve to some extent. Most animals judge danger first by size, I believe. If you are bigger than me than you can hurt me…if only you could break a flight feather in a tussle and therefore I would not fly well. But those environments without certain predators (Pacific Islands before the introduction of rats, pigs and such) were easy pickings for people too. On the other hand the antelope of the US southwest are believed to be so incredibly fast because they had some ‘fast’ predator in the past, one no longer present in the current environment, but they are still incredibly fast…faster than they need for any current threat.
Well interesting puzzle to chew on this morning.

Yay about both the fruit and the washing machine! (I found purple Italian prune plums two weeks ago at the farmers’ market — bought more than I could eat in a week. I love them!) And yes, interesting question about whether the fear/flight is hard wired and remains after the predator is extinct.

I just read a great book by Diane Ackerman on the challenges of introducing zoo-reared species into the wild – they don’t know how to do everything via instinct born of genetics. But some learn and survive – and the first wild-born generation has a much greater survival rate than the immigrant generation. Not unlike people, learning to fit into a new place.