THE long-extinct dodo could be brought back from the dead by 2028, nearly 350 years after humans hunted them into extinction.
Either that, or the long-lost Tasmanian tiger, the CEO of a landmark gene-editing company told The Sun.
In an interview, CEO Ben Lamm said the woolly mammoth wouldn’t be the first extinct species to be born by 2028[/caption]
While these animals are expected to visually resemble the extinct species they’re modelled on, they will be genetically engineered versions[/caption]
Colossal Biosciences, understood to be the world’s first de-extinction company, is trying to bring the woolly mammoth, tasmanian tiger (thylacine) and dodo back from the dead.
Some 4,000 years after extinction, the woolly mammoth species is on track to have its first baby born via an artificial womb by 2028, thanks to a recent breakthrough.
But in an interview, CEO Ben Lamm said the woolly mammoth wouldn’t be the first extinct species to be born by that year.
“I don’t believe the mammoth will be the first species,” he said. “You know, it’s 22 months of gestation (incubation).”
Lamm, instead, reckons the dodo or the Tasmanian tiger might be born first, due to their shorter development times.
How is it done?
While these animals are expected to visually resemble the extinct species they're modelled on, they will be genetically engineered versions.
For example, scientists hope to edit gene cells taken from a well-preserved woolly mammoth that was found frozen.
They will then combine those genes with the genes of an Asian elephant, the woolly mammoth’s closest living relative.
Scientists will also isolate the cold-resistant traits of a woolly mammoth, such as its thick hair, to insert into the Asian elephants genome.
Essentially, Colossal will create a cold-resistant version of the Asian elephant to exist in the Arctic Tundra.
Similar techniques will be used for the Tasmanian tiger and the dodo.
While there is some dispute over how exactly the dodo went extinct, the species thrived on the island of Mauritius until the arrival of settlers in the late 1500s.
The dodos were easy to catch because they had not yet learned to be afraid of humans, and lived together in small wooded areas of the island.
While accounts say they did not taste very nice, they were often caught and stewed by arriving sailors.
It wasn’t just humans that feasted on the dodo, but the rats, goats, pigs, deer and macaque that emerged there too.
Dodos only lay one egg per year, which became food for new incoming species, and significantly accelerated their extinction.
But anyone wanting to replace their turkey with a dodo for future Christmas’ will be sorely disappointed.
Trophy hunting woolly mammoths in the Arctic Tundra, or Tasmanian tigers in Australia and the US will also be strictly prohibited.
“We aren’t bringing animals back to hunt them and we aren’t bringing animals back to eat them,” Lamm explained.
“It would be sad [if they were hunted], but we’d hope that the governments and partners that we’re collaborating with would help us in the enforcement of those protections.”
While just one dodo, tasmian tiger or woolly mammoth born in the 21st Century would be considered a triumph to any layman – Lamm’s vision goes further.
“I don’t define that as a success,” he said, adding “I think that you have to engineer in enough genetic diversity so you have small populations.”
Lamm doesn’t just want one or two of each species resurrected, but fully, self-sustainable populations across various different regions.
“Our conservation partners have found success in rewilding, or rebounding populations from as many as five to ten individuals (animals),” he said.
“I think that we will probably engineer small herds of mammoths, thylacine and dodos and others to help spur that.
“But then we probably have multiple different breeding populations would be the goal.
“So, you know, our goal isn’t to make one. I’ll tell you, the second one’s a lot cheaper than the first one. So, I think we’ll probably make as many as possible.”
