Did the Tribbles actually die out by the 24th Century?

[Lance]

'DS9:Trials And Tribble-ations' seems to be implying this.

WORF: They were once considered mortal enemies of the Klingon Empire.
ODO: This? A mortal enemy of the Empire?
WORF: They were an ecological menace, a plague to be wiped out.
ODO: Wiped out? What are you saying?
WORF: Hundreds of warriors were sent to track them down throughout the galaxy. A armada obliterated the Tribbles' homeworld. By the end of the twenty third century they had been eradicated.
ODO: Another glorious chapter of Klingon history. Tell me, do they still sing songs of the great tribble hunt?

But I've been having a look on Ex Astis Scientia, and it's clear that the Tribbles still existed as late as 'Generations' because we actually see a child holding one (and if we take Keiko's school-room board as read, then they were at least known in the 24th century).


http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/database/tribbles.htm


(I actually think Alexandra's "pet" in 'TNG:When The Bough Breaks' is only supposed to be a plush Tribble, if it's a Tribble at all. Sure it's got a cage, but that might just be an accessory that the plushy came with. This is supported by the scene where she cheekily sticks it to Picard's back. Maybe the one in 'Generations' was only a plushy as well?)


Any answers for this? Are we to assume that Worf's line isn't that literally the Tribbles were eradicated, but simply that their homeworld was? And therefore the only Tribbles left were a scattered number 'out in the wild'? (Making them only an endangered species in the 24th century, rather than an extinct one?)

One thing that does need to be noted about 'DS9:Trials And Tribble-ations' is that if we watch it carefully we can see that none of the Starfleet officers seem to react with curiosity about the Tribbles at all. Even Bashir acts like he knows what a Tribble is when he first sees one, but he just isn't expecting to see it in the Enterprise corridor. The only DS9 character who overtly exhibits no knowledge about them in the episode is Odo, which is entirely excusable because it's very unlikely he's ever seen one before.


Of course, if Tribbles are still knocking around in the 24th century in some fashion, it does rather destroy the punchline of 'Trials And Tribble-ations' (ie, that Sisko and crew have inadvertently reintroduced them to the galaxy).

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Maybe all the ones we see post wipeout are sterile clones made for pets.

 

[Lance]

We know the replicators have restrictions on what they can and can't actually produce, but perhaps sterile replicated Tribbles are considered safe.

It does amuse me that Worf waxes lyrical about how the Klingons wiped out all the Tribbles..... when not more than a couple years before, the scene in Generations establishes very clearly a Tribble on the Enterprise-D, his former assignment. What would his reaction have been if he passed that kid carrying it in the corridor?

 

[Melakon]

Worf must be referring to the glommer, which appeared in David Gerrold's TAS story "More Tribbles, More Troubles".

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Glommer

 

[F. King Daniel]

Considering their rate of reproduction and how they're spread through the galaxy (Phlox had some in ENT, Cyrano Jones was selling them across the galaxy, they were in the spacedock bar in STIII, on the Enterprise-D, Scotty had one on Delta Vega in the AU and I vaguely remember reading about a Borgified tribble being snuck into a TNG or DS9 episode although I never saw it) I doubt the Klingons could exterminate every tribble, everywhere.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

But there must be some means of population control, especially as humans won't want to be killing excess tribbles every single day as a drudgery of pet care.

 

[MikeS]

Cyrano Jones was selling them across the galaxy...

Which is odd, because you'd assume that something that was so easily reproduced would hold little or no value.

 

[Pavonis]

The galaxy is vast, and even something like a tribble is rare in the galaxy as a whole. Of course, Jones would have to haul his supply to a corner where their reputation hasn't reached yet, but that shouldn't be too hard. Apparently they were completely unknown to the crew of Enterprise in the 2260s.

 

[sbk1234]

McCoy said if you don't feed them, they stop breeding. It's likely Cyrano Jones knew how to withold food so they wouldn't reproduce until at such time as he needed to replenish his stock. That would help limit their numbers, and even allow him to manipulate the supply and demand.

 

[Kirby]

Was anyone else disturbed by Scotty's final solution in Trouble With Tribbles? Yes, the were a danger to the Enterprise, but to just beam them to the Klingon ship where they probably would be killed in a violent manner as opposed to something which could be done more 'humanely' on the Enterprise. And then they all got a good laugh out of it...

 

[Shawnster]

Was anyone else disturbed by Scotty's final solution in Trouble With Tribbles? Yes, the were a danger to the Enterprise, but to just beam them to the Klingon ship where they probably would be killed in a violent manner as opposed to something which could be done more 'humanely' on the Enterprise. And then they all got a good laugh out of it...

Would you have had an issue if tribbles looked more like the rats they are? Tribbles are vermin.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Was anyone else disturbed by Scotty's final solution in Trouble With Tribbles? Yes, the were a danger to the Enterprise, but to just beam them to the Klingon ship where they probably would be killed in a violent manner as opposed to something which could be done more 'humanely' on the Enterprise. And then they all got a good laugh out of it...

I was disturbed that Kirk thought it was cruel to beam them into space but because it pissed off the Klingons he was cool with them being beamed onto their ship.

 

[R. Star]

That's right, when you find ants or roaches in your food, be sure to ask yourself how humane it is when you're calling the exterminator.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Have you never heard of spay and release programs?

 

[Captain Rob]

So if you stop feeding them, they stop breeding. What do you suppose a skinny tribble looks like?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Shatner's toupee?

 

[Robert Comsol]

Come to think of it: Would there not have been some kind of indigenous predator on the Tribbles' homeworld?

IIRC we only have high animal birthrates where smaller birthrates would endanger a species.

So what happened to all the Tribbles on their indigenous homeworld after they had eaten everything there? Did they turn into cannibals?

Bob

 

[R. Star]

Cannibbles!

 

[Pavonis]

Come to think of it: Would there not have been some kind of indigenous predator on the Tribbles' homeworld?

Bob

Probably every predator ate tribbles. They may have been the base of the food chain, at least on land, on their homeworld.

 

[Timewalker]

We know the replicators have restrictions on what they can and can't actually produce, but perhaps sterile replicated Tribbles are considered safe.

So replicators can replicate living creatures? That should make every parent think twice about letting a kid use the replicator, especially if they've expressed a wish to get a puppy or a pony...

But there must be some means of population control, especially as humans won't want to be killing excess tribbles every single day as a drudgery of pet care.

It's called spay/neuter. But you have to be very fast about it, since according to McCoy, they're born pregnant.

Cyrano Jones was selling them across the galaxy...

Which is odd, because you'd assume that something that was so easily reproduced would hold little or no value.

I saw a news story yesterday about a dog that had 19 puppies. Three puppies died soon after birth, 5 were stillborn, and 11 survived. The owners plan to sell the puppies for $1700 apiece.

Was anyone else disturbed by Scotty's final solution in Trouble With Tribbles? Yes, the were a danger to the Enterprise, but to just beam them to the Klingon ship where they probably would be killed in a violent manner as opposed to something which could be done more 'humanely' on the Enterprise. And then they all got a good laugh out of it...

If Uhura could laugh at the loss of her pet, I wouldn't be trusting her with any other kind of pet...

(Actually, I'm a bit surprised that pets would have been allowed on the ship in the first place; I wonder if tribbles shed?)

Would you have had an issue if tribbles looked more like the rats they are? Tribbles are vermin.

Rats are vermin. I shudder every time I hear of anyone keeping one of those revolting things as a pet.

Come to think of it: Would there not have been some kind of indigenous predator on the Tribbles' homeworld?

Of course there would have been. Unless a wild animal would be affected by the tribbles' trilling sounds, the tribble wouldn't stand a chance against becoming lunch. That's why they bred so prolifically - evolution at work.