Why Resurrecting Extinct Animals Is Actually A GREAT Idea

It sounds like science fiction, but a couple of groups of genetic researchers are actively working on bringing back extinct species like the wooly mammoth and the Dodo bird. It’s a complicated issue, filled with all kinds of ethical questions and scientific advancements but when all is said and done, it could be a boon to genetic research and serve as a springboard for technologies that could make our lives better.

So what do you say? Wanna ride a wooly mammoth?

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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
1:53 - Predator Clone Sketch
2:31 - Man-Caused Extinction
4:18 - What is Extinction?
6:35 - How Does De-Extinction Work?
9:23 - Is This Ethical?
13:31 - Sponsor - Incogni

[joescott]

Merry Christmas everyone! Thanks for a great year!

[SaintPhoenixx]

I think Joe deserves some recognition for how he makes regular videos while also constantly hiding from his predator clone. Must be a nightmare trying to edit a video and then an evil version of you turns up with an axe.

[carolyncasner]

I know that they weren't extinct, but wolves and bison re-introduction to their habitat seems to have had positive results.

[Locuts]

I’m not going to lie Joe this was one of the smoothest segues you’ve done from topic to comic bit to advertisement. Nicely done!

[mikedaleiden]

Absolutely in favor of this. It would be perfectly appropriate for the Dodo to inherit the Earth after humanity eventually kills itself off.

[derj]

Bringing back animals that went extint relatively recently makes sense, such as the Tasmanian tiger and passenger pigeon. IF they can be successfully reintroduced to their ecosystem. The tech could also be used to save nearly extinct animals like the northern white rhino.

[emilrogengellschwaner]

I feel like they've talked about bringing the mammoth back longer than it has been extinct

[planetdisco]

I’m Australian so obviously it’s the Thylacine. Plus my understanding of it is that marsupials may be easier to clone using a surrogate species for gestation because they are so tiny when born and can complete their development in an artificial pouch. Then there’s all the other Aussie megafauna, only a few thousand years ago we had some utterly amazing animals roaming this country. Hippo sized wombats, giant kangaroos over 10 feet tall, a goanna bigger than Komodo dragons and a marsupial lion! Now that would be something to see….

[aremoreequal]

Some people freeze up when terrified, just like rabbits. I'm sure I'm not the first person in the world to notice it, but when I noticed a rabbit freezing in place, it reminded me of when I was a child and terrified of a ghost (I don't believe in ghosts, but that's now. I was terrified of ghosts when I was about six or seven). I was so terrified that I couldn't move, I squeezed my eyes shut and froze completely. Seeing the rabbit freeze up because I was walking near by. It probably helps the rabbit survive, they blend in with the enviornment and look like a tree stump or something. They don't make noise. They freeze. We probably have those same genes as well.

[shadowprince]

That small difference in DNA can be massive. Just look at the barred owl and spotted owl. They can even sometimes hybridize and have fertile offspring. Yet, they are two pretty drastically different animals. I like the concept but wow does it need to be done carefully.

[IWouldLikeToRemainAnonymous]

My main practical worry with de-extinction is that we are looking for superficial traits or an incomplete set of necessary traits when planning a project to bring back a species. The Wolly Indian elephants with cold resistance may superficially look like Wolly Mammoths but does it have the insides of one? The traits that are only hidden on the inside of the body or worse yet, on the inside of their minds... Parenting, social structure and survival skills are key components to any mammal species (and most other animal species as well) that could be lost when trying to de-extinct a species.

[mrmosty]

Interesting point on Smilodon. It makes sense that we still have a primal fear of carnivores like modern big cats. I often wondered why we depict monsters/demons with horns and or hooves. I'm going to assume that hunters attempting to score a kill amongst a grazer herd must've been assailed by defensive bulls that would either trample or gore them like modern bovids can. The anxiety of trying to get enough food for the tribe and survive must've scarred our collective consciousness with the shapes and armaments of these creatures

[alanfike]

9:32 👏👏👏👍 Couldn't have said it better myself! We should be focusing on preventing more extinction.

[AaronPaulIbarrola]

I want them to bring back the Kauai O'o because the recording of the last male of the spieces desperately singing for a female that would never come haunts my dreams and brings me absolute melancholy.

[transmascdruid]

Joe, you can never just make a nice, educational science video without some Family Guy-esque segway into the weirdest shit I've ever seen 😂

[bryanrussell]

What would adding another keystone species or apex predators do to the existing environment? Wolves being reintroduced to Yellowstone restored balance and is an amazing testimony to this.

[michaeljames]

You may have already done a video on 'Pleistocene Park', but a deeper look at why bringing large mastodons back to the steppe tundra, is potentially so important, (Potentially, very, very important.) would have been interesting. Great vid. Thank you.

[lc]

Bringing back the Ivory-billed woodpecker seems like it should be easier than a dodo. But the Moa, and Haast’s Eagle would be pretty epic too.

[applessisnine]

Joe, I think I have seen every video you have ever made, and I think that this side clip/sponsor part/sub plot/whatever is the very best one you have ever made. That was amazing and sooo very well done. Excellent job. 👍😀
(and that says a lot because you have had many good ones, and it also made me make my first comment ever on one of your videos 👍)

[thecompguy]

Joe, that was one of the best skits you've done and u managed to out due any ad performance, all in the same video!