Another attempt to undo a human-induced intrinsic harm is the introduction of Aldabra giant tortoises to ile aux Aigrettes, near Mauritius, to replace an extinct local species that had been crucial to maintaining this island’s ebony forests.Introductions are also sometimes made to reduce the risk of a localised species becoming extinct.Pyne’s ground plum, native to a handful of sites in the central basins of Tennessee but now transplanted to others, falls into this category.Relational values are the most esoteric, being experienced on an emotional rather than a practical level.Lots of people feel good about native wildlife, which is generally the main motive for its conservation.But that feel-good factor can extend to interlopers as well, especially if the interloping happened a while back.Dingoes, for example, are the descendants of dogs brought to Australia more than 3,500 years ago, presumably by human agency, but which have lived free there ever since and have entered the mythologies of aboriginal Australians.Similarly, the wild horses and asses (mustangs and burros) of North America, though not as long established as dingoes, have found places in the hearts of sufficient numbers of people to have active lobbies for their conservation.Relational values can cut both ways, however.
