WASHINGTON — The dodo bird isn't coming back anytime soon. Nor is the woolly mammoth. But a company working on technologies to bring back extinct species has attracted more investors, while other scientists are skeptical such feats are possible or a good idea.
Similar to previous projects, resurrecting the iconic bird requires huge advances in genetic engineering, stem cell biology, artificial wombs, and animal husbandry. Whether they can fit into a whole new world—300 years later—is hotly debated.
Colossal Biosciences is on a quest to bring back extinct animal species. In the past year and a half, the company has announced plans to recreate the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger. On February 2, 2023, the Texas-based startup added the dodo bird to its de-extinction list.
No. There is no evidence that scientists are currently trying to bring back the megalodon. In fact, its doubtful that they ever will. This is because the megalodon went extinct millions of years ago.
The cooling of the planet may have contributed to the extinction of the megalodon in a number of ways. As the adult sharks were dependent on tropical waters, the drop in ocean temperatures likely resulted in a significant loss of habitat.
Extinct Species: Pyrenean Ibex
The Pyrenean ibex is possibly the only extinct animal that has successfully been brought back to life — though it only lasted for a few minutes. The last of the animals died out in 2000, but three years later scientists used its frozen cells to clone a calf.
Many well-known species and subspecies — including the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis), Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus), black rhino (Diceros bicornis), hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), Sunda tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) and Cross River ...
Unfortunately, DNA slowly degrades, and once it's gone completely, there's no way to recover it. Researchers believe DNA has a half-life of 521 years, so after 6.8 million years, it's believed to be completely gone. That's why species like dinosaurs have virtually no chance of de-extinction.
To recreate some version of the dodo, the scientists plan to edit genes from the Nicobar pigeon, the dodo's closest living relative. They have already successfully sequenced the extinct bird's genome from ancient DNA.
We can't state an exact date but it seems that the dodo only died-off at the end of 17th century. Until recently, the last confirmed dodo sighting on its home island of Mauritius was made in 1662, but a 2003 estimate by David Roberts and Andrew Solow placed the extinction of the bird around 1690.
Over-harvesting of the birds, combined with habitat loss and a losing competition with the newly introduced animals, was too much for the dodos to survive. The last dodo was killed in 1681, and the species was lost forever to extinction.
Abstract. The extinction of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus L.; Fig. 1) is commonly dated to the last confirmed sighting in 1662, reported by Volkert Evertsz on an islet off Mauritius1,2.
If the dodo were to be brought back, it could be restored to protected habitats on [the island nation of] Mauritius, where people could go to observe dodos in their native habitat. What about the most dangerous?
For around 300 years the world's only preserved dodo remains have resided at Oxford University.
Wild animals such as pandas and elephants are likely to become extinct as soon as 2025. Could you imagine by the time you may have started a family it is a possibility that your children will never see a panda or elephant?
The rarest animal in the world is the vaquita (Phocoena sinus). It is a kind of critically endangered porpoise that only lives in the furthest north-western corner of the Gulf of California in Mexico. There are only 18 left in the world. It is thought that they may be extinct in ten years.
According to the experts, ten percent of plants and animals will disappear by 2050 – a number rising up to 27 percent by 2100.
Bowhead Whale
Bowhead whales can live for over 200 years, which is longer than any other mammal.
Tardigrades will be the last surviving species on Earth and could live through any doomsday event, scientists have claimed. Also known as water bears, tardigrades can survive for up to 30 years without food or water and are the toughest creatures on Earth.
Resurrected mammoths would populate the permafrost and avert its melting by turning wet tundra into dry grasslands, which better sequester carbon and reflect sunlight, keeping the permafrost cooler and helping, thereby, to save the planet.
The main argument against de-extinction comes from a conservation biology point of view. Focusing on de-extinction could compromise biodiversity by diverting resources from preserving ecosystems and preventing newer extinctions.