7 Extinct Animals That Could Actually Come Back

These top extinct animals are on the verge of coming back to Earth. This is a throwback to some extinct animals I actually searched for on Extinct or Alive. With major scientific advances in recent years, and conservation attempts around the world, these extinct species could actually return to our world. From the Thylacine, to the Dodo and Woolly Mammoth, these are 7 animals that could return.

Colossal Biosciences:

Forrest Galante is a world renowned wildlife biologist and TV Host. His mission is to inspire and educate people about animals and adventure through the media, including hosting programs on Discovery Channel, on-camera expert interviews, and production of his own wildlife and natural history shows.

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[ForrestGalante]

Which extinct animal would you like to see make a return?

[rigorocks]

The passenger pigeon is probably the most important one to bring back because of its ability to spread different seeds to large areas

[Leox]

I would love to see Steller’s Sea Cow, just the idea of a giant manatee living in the arctic seems really cool

[sportsman]

Fantastic episode Forrest! I have a ton of other great candidates.

Colossal has been very clear that they need three things to be able to de-extinct a species:

1.) A close living relative which shares a similar genome (I'm guessing here, but I would say it would have to share 80-85% of the same DNA for it to be possible).

2.) Well preserved specimens of the extinct species that they can get observable/recordable DNA from.

3.) Most importantly, a suitable ecosystem/habitat and purpose for existing.

With those factors, my list stands at:

#1.) Caribbean Monk Seal

Extinction: 1950's.

Closest living relative: Hawaiian Monk Seal

This is the biggest no brainer, in my opinion. The Caribbean Monk Seal is an excellent candidate. It went extinct in our lifetime, which means specimens and DNA will be plentiful. There are no monk seals in the North or South American continents anymore (Hawaii is thousands of miles away). They were exclusively slaughtered by humans and there's an extremely close living relative. Also the Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals are not doing well at all. Any research into more biodiversity for these species is greatly needed. Seals play an extremely important role in the nutrient circulation of our seas. They are also an extremely charismatic species and humans have a history of husbandry with them. I think they need to be priority #1 moving forward.

#2.) Falkland Islands Wolf

Extinction: 1870's.

Closest living relative: Maned Wolf

This is another no brainer, in my opinion. Exterminated in the past 150 years exclusively by humans, the Falkland Islands remain nearly as barren as they were when the wolves roamed the islands in significant numbers. They can fit right back into their habitat (albeit in smaller numbers). There has already been research into their genome and it's known they are closely related to the Maned Wolf of South America and another species that went extinct around 500 years ago on the mainland continent. They would be a perfect case study of reintroduction of an apex canid-type creature into their old environment. If the wolves of Yellowstone are any indication, it will probably be a massive success.

#3.) Woolly Rhinoceros

Extinction: Approx. 10, 000 years ago.

Closest living relative: Sumatran Rhinoceros

In general, I would think an animal this old would be impossible. But everything that stands for the Woolly Mammoth project stands for the Woolly Rhino. It has a purpose and a proposed habitat in trying to remake the Mammoth Steppe. It has a close living relative: the Sumatran Rhino. And any research that goes into this can help ALL rhino species that are struggling, particularly the three in Southeast Asia.

#4.) Great Auk

Extinction: 1840's.

Closest living relative: Razorbill

The Great Auk was exterminated brutally by humans approximately 180 years ago. Their habitat still exists (all their cousins still roost their old nesting sites). And they were a unique species in the Northern Hemisphere. There are numerous specimens available in order to capture DNA and a close living relative: the Razorbill. They are an icon of extinction and they deserve another chance to roam the seas again.

#5.) Rodrigues Solitaire

Extinction: 1770's.

Closest Living Relative: The Nicobar Pigeon

If you're going to bring back the Dodo, you might as well bring back its closest relative that lived into modern times! The Solitaire is a fantastic looking bird that was unfairly exterminated by feral rats, cats, and snakes brought by humans. The groundwork is already done for the Dodo. A few thousand gene switches and we have another necessary species!

Honorable mentions:
Carolina Parakeet, Bluebuck, Japanese Wolf, Moa, Elephant Bird, Haast's Eagle.

[vincentwolf]

I'm hearing this about mammoth cloning for at the very least past 15 years. And still we're nowhere near it. Probably gonna be same in another 15 year, another guy will be going "I do believe we're gonna see mammoths in our lifetime!".

[oz]

I do think that Tasmania Tiger (Thylacine) should be priority number one on bring it back. Hunters in the early 1920s drove this animal to extinction. We do owe this animal another chance back to life and I hope can bring it back someday.

[greggterkovitz]

Forrest just makes science and animal history just so much more interesting. He explains it like a normal person and watch out, we just might learn something that we didn’t know about. Extinct or Alive needs to come back too!

[tyrannicproductions]

I am here to clear up a few things about the dodo: First, The dodo was not really that dumb for a bird, in fact it seems that it actually was fairly intellegent. Second, Humans alone did not just wipe it out by bonking them or eating them. People often described their food as unruly or disgusting, but it was rather the dogs, cats, and rats introduced onto their island that killed and ate their eggs. With an already slightly lower reproduction rate, the dodo was unable to keep up with their losses from natural disasters that would occur.

[renefeindt]

I’d like to see genetic diversity added back into the cheetah population, and other animals on the brink of extinction, using some of the deextinction tech. But also the THYLACINE! ❤

[jaratt]

It always amazes me to listen to Forrest and hear that moment when he slows his talking because he can feel his accent coming out and he wants to control it. It'd be really interesting to hear him talking unmasked and letting his accent flow, sort of like me when I get around southern people and suddenly my Mississippi accent comes out in force.

[Sammalkives]

"if I told you extinct animals could come back you would call me crazy" Actually Forrest you and David Attenborough are the only two people I would actually believe on this subject :)

[TreasureChestVHS]

To be able to say something that’s so scientific and technical in a “dumbed down” and simple way just shows how knowledgeable this guy really is

[TheTbovine]

I just found your channel a couple days ago and I gotta say I have never been so delighted to see that someone created a YouTube channel. I first heard of you through JRE and was instantly inspired and interested in what you were doing. Please keep up the great work. Thank you for all you do.

[barrow_]

Bringing back the Thylacine to rebuild our Tassie ecosystem would be amazing to see. I will without a doubt visit Tassie to see one in the flesh. Amazingly important work is being done on the cutting edge in this field.

[captaintuna]

8:08 actually it was the rats, introduced by ships, that ate the dodos eggs which lead to their extinction

(dodo had no natural predators so they would nest on the ground and didn’t know how to defend their nests)

[mrdarkeed]

I couldn’t stop tearing up at the passenger pigeon section

[FlN]

I really hope they succeed man. Watching the videos of Benjamin and the fact that he passed just cause someone forgot and left him out in the cold just sucks. Would love to see all these creatures again one day 👍

[joshpython]

Love this video! As a geneticist I think it’s super cool they are carrying out this research. One point to make however, is that they aren’t exactly brining the animal back. Instead, they are brining back proxies of that animal with phenotypic traits similar to the animal they are bringing back. For example, using the mammoth that coalossal aims to bring back, they aren’t directly breeding a pure wooly mammoth. Rather, they aim to engineer viable genes from the wooly mammoth and incorporate them into a proxy species, which is the Indian elephant. Thus, the team at coalossal are amalgamating genomes together to create animals that resemble their extinct counterparts.

[JehushMahadeo]

As a Mauritian, I'll be exhilarated if I saw a living, breathing dodo in my lifetime

[Devdudee]

Awesome video Forrest. Thank you for doing what you do.