By Tim Binnall
In addition to their work trying to revive both the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian Tiger, a bioscience company have added yet another creature to their proverbial de-extinction wish list: the dodo bird. In an announcement on Tuesday, Colossal Biosciences detailed their ambitious plan to bring back the iconic creature that was hunted into extinction in the 17th century. The group indicated that they intend to "partner with the government of Mauritius to establish a foundation for the de-extinction and rewilding of the beloved bird" which once thrived on the island nation until it fell victim to hungry Dutch sailors who found the flightless animal particularly easy to catch.
Formed in September of 2021 with a whopping $15 million in funding, the Dallas-based bioscience company initially began with a plan to produce an elephant hybrid partially comprised of woolly mammoth genetics. Last summer, they expanded their portfolio by forming a partnership with Melbourne University's Thylacine Integrated Genetic Restoration Research Lab, which is working on bringing the famed Tasmanian Tiger back to life. Their new project will follow a similar process as the ones being devised for those two animals, wherein the company hopes to tweak pigeon DNA so that it matches that of a dodo and then implant it into an egg that will, they hope, produce the bird when it is hatched.
Serving as an advisor on the project will be evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro, who spearheaded the successful sequencing of the animal's genome last year. "The dodo is a prime example of a species that became extinct because we – people – made it impossible for them to survive in their native habitat," she mused, expressing excitement over the possibility of bringing the animal back to life. To that end, Collosal observed that while the animal has become emblematic of things which no longer exist, they hope that reviving the bird will lead to it being seen in a whole new light as the "symbol of species de-extinction."