Saturday, June 27, 2009

Citras Go Extinct!

Citras, the world's first artificially-created species of animal, were released into the wild just a decade ago, showing no damage to the indigenous species. Now, though, they are nowhere to be found. The last Citra has officially died. They were given protection under the Endangered Species Act a year ago, when their population was extremely low. Back then there were only 20, but now none remain.

Citras were a genetically-created animal to study the genetic traits linked to homosexuality. They proved to the world that people were born gay. They were genetically created to be gay. Much of this was done through private funding, and a plethora of companies from all sides of the political spectrum pitched in and called this the New Genesis Project. This was also the group that later created the first anthropomorphic "furry," a dog with white fur named Henry. However, the federal government also provided funding from the taxpayers (via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), and because they used laboratories from the National Science Foundation, were going to get the credit for the species.

The results concluded that homosexuality, for the most part, is genetic. However, many right-wing political groups felt threatened by the results, and the project was going to be scrapped altogether. Many of the animals were going to be euthanized, until they were all found missing the next day. They were all headed to the nearest forest for safety, and it is there where the defective "straight" citras multiplied, keeping the population relatively stable. However, this was done in vain, as they also carried some part of the gay gene with them, causing a massive decline in population. It was hard for many of them to find food, as they went into empty houses to get most of it. It was later found that they were using their citrus fruits as a medium of currency. The value, however, was volatile when compared to the more-stable US Dollar, Euro and Great Britain Pound, since it was largely based on survival status and the object desired.

A religious organization tried to prove the result false and bought there own citra for research. They claimed that the citra could become straight by a change in attitude and lifestyle. However, their attempts failed miserably. When they were pressuring the citra, it became violent, nearly killing one man. They concluded that the homosexuality was "hard-wired into the creature to an extent beyond that which would be found in nature under normal circumstances."

Many scientists look no further than their sexual orientation as the cause of their demise. "It's very clear that if a large percentage of the population will not breed properly, it will not be sustainable," said biologist Danette Hedman. "It's a basic rule of evolution." "There were, in fact, straight citras out there. However, when over 90% of them are gay males it put the straight and female citras under tremendous reproductive pressure," said Adam Wan, a zoologist that headed the New Genesis Project, "It was very unlikely that they were going to find a straight partner and breed new citras. Evolution was not on their side."

The last citra's body, a male, was found dead in an orange grove in Florida. It will be taxidermied and sent to the Smithsonian. Although no citras have been found in the last month, some biologists claim that the call may be premature. "There could still be a citra or two left in the forest that we may not know about, and further investigation needs to be done before calling off a species like that." However, to date there have still be no claims or sightings of another citra. "Even if there was, it's likely to be a homosexual anyway, and if there was a female, they're likely to be so spread apart that they would never survive," said David J. Hayes of the Department of the Interior.

However, this does not conclude the story of the citra. "We still have the DNA as well as the sequences in the laboratory. We are able to make a clone of both male and female citras. We can also alter the DNA to make them more straight and therefore keep the population stable," says Wan.

Even if there isn't another generations of citras, they will have historical importance. Despite the bioethics controversy, many will point to the citra as the first animal to prove that homosexuality can be genetic. Also, although they were largely based off of the Red Fox, they were also the first species "created" by man, which is a remarkable achievement. They will always be a hallmark of the New Genesis Project's first success, and one of their greatest achievements.

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