FSCONS Blog

Jurassic Park Brings Back Vanished Species by Bob Sierra, Environmental Reporter Although it represents an antiquated cinema technology, Steven Spielberg's twentieth century film "Jurassic Park" still has a following among twentieth century cinema buffs. In Jurassic Park dinosaurs were recreated using genetic material that was extracted from dinosaur remains. Now, Silicon Valley has its own Jurassic Park. It is the brainchild of Bob Gunther, the technology wizard who brought us some of the best virtual reality entertainments in the 2010s and early 2020s. Bob Gunther's Jurassic Park is an attempt to recreate extinct species using virtual reality. "I don't view Jurassic Park as just entertainment," Mr. Gunther told this reporter via teleview. "I see Jurassic Park as a serious attempt to preserve wonderful creatures that are passing from the scene so that our children and our children's children can enjoy them." Mr. Gunther came up with the idea for Jurassic Park when the last humpback whale passed away in 2023. Mr. Gunther realized that his children and grandchildren would never see a humpback whale unless he could create one using virtual reality technology. He realized that not only could he preserve the humpback whale in this way, but he could preserve and recreate many of the species that had become extinct because of regrettable environmental pressures. Jurassic Park opened on April 6, 2025 and it was an immediate success. One teenage girl who enjoyed meeting a virtual humpback whale on opening day is reported to have said, "Now I don't feel so bad that they are gone. I can always come here to Jurassic Park and feel the spray and the excitement of a real humpback whale." Mr. Gunther invests millions of dollars in recreating each species. Although he has concentrated on species that have disappeared recently, especially primates and mammals, he has also produced virtual reality dinosaurs and mammoths. "Still, Humpy is our favorite attraction," Mr. Gunther said. "The children just shout with joy when they see her jump out of the water, especially if she is generous enough to flash that great whale tail of hers." Mr. Gunther's greatest disappointment is the apparent lack of interest in his latest creation, Spotty, the spotted owl (extinct: 2019). "There was such a hubbaballoo in the press when the last spotted owl died, that I was sure that Spotty would be a great success, but most kids are interested in whales and dolphins and dinosaurs. Go figure." Mr. Gunther looked philosophical as he showed me some pictures of the empty lines in front of the Spotty exhibit. "I sure didn't make any money on that one," he said. Original post: http://fscons.org/2010/news/jurassic-park-brings-back-vanished-species