Is the Dodo Bird Coming Back from Extinction?

A “de-extinction” company called Colossal Biosciences had plans to bring back the Dodo bird, as well as the Wooly Mammoth, and Tasmanian Tiger. The science behind this is super interesting and controversial.

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[mbcmechachu]

This feels less like a de-extinction and more like a hybridization.

[snowyowl]

It won't count on lists cuz its not a real dodo?.... then meh 🤣

[matthewhaverkamp]

I wonder how a de-extinction company makes money.

[losmasgoods]

Wow nice video I didn't know they were going to resurrect the dodo bird❤

[nancywhite]

Why not bring back the Labrador duck or the passenger pigeon, among others instead of the dodo? They were more recently eliminated by human interference and some genetic material could still be available. Just so you know, I’m being a bit snarky here.

[ChrisCapoccia]

This is like the chickenosaurus guy that continues to be a few years away from genetically modifying a chicken into a dinosaur. But when you actually get into the details, it's just going to be some new frankenchicken and not a dinosaur

[gewamser]

Aldo Leopold called the passenger pigeon “a biological storm” kinda doomed to extinction by the human caused changes in the habitat, and market hunting…but it might be relatively easy to bring back. Brings up the question, that maybe some species were better off extinct. Better to save genetic material in a bank for endangered contemporary birds.

[Onehelluvahotel]

I'm all for the idea. Just hope they can pull it off correctly without screwing up the environment they put these animals in.

[jessamineprice]

You make a good point that even if the money could theoretically be used for other projects, that's not how money works. This is a private company, and their goal is to carry out a cool, flashy project. It takes governments and boring habitat protection stuff to slow down extinction. Also, I wonder about that number they gave for how many species have gone extinct since 1500. Perhaps that's just historically confirmed cases? There are probably some less well-known birds that went extinct without anyone noticing, due to gradual habitat loss, etc. But not every bird was historically significant and memorable like the dodo and the passenger pigeon. There are historians of the environment who research the heck out of these things, but they're limited by their sources. Especially in remote places where we still haven't fully catalogued all the flora and fauna.

[rdmetzger]

Forrest Galante said that Colossus is 100% going to inseminate an elephant with a woolly mammoth. They also said they will do this by 2024, that is interesting because the gestation is 22 months which means it's likely already happened. If they can do that they can do the dodo.

[raminagrobis]

When the big donors who think this company will actually clone dodos see the results of their editing, they'll want their money back. Actually, I believe it's far more feasible to bring back mammoth than dodos, for the simple reason that genome information quality is far greater for mammoths than dodos. Also, the argument that mammoths could restore boreal wetlands and bogs to their Pleistocene former complexity make far more sense than reintroducing a few pseudo-dodo thingies on Mauritius.

[Beryllahawk]

A flashy project for sure, and I'm betting they chose the dodo purely because just about everyone has HEARD of the dodo. Plenty of folks have no idea what a thylacine is, even more people don't know about passenger pigeons and other recently lost species. And this is a non-mammal, which is going to have its own quite different challenges. I've got large questions about just how a pigeon is going to lay a huge egg, for example - not that it can't be done, but just...you know, the biological/physical HOW. With mammals, you could conceivably perform a Caesarean section if the birth encounters a problem, but how on earth does a bird lay a bigger egg than its normal genetics? Though I'm quite sure that Colossal will find a way.
Love all the Jurassic Park mentions, you're quite right. There's a certain element of "should they?" to each of these "de-extinction" projects; yes there is a huge amount that we can learn from the effort, but coming from a private company, one HAS to wonder what profit they see in it. (Let's hope NOT a theme park, lol!)

[judyheim]

Thank you for the fascinating commentary on an intriguing topic. The SA article states that they got a "snippet" of DNA. Any idea where they might have gotten that DNA? Agree with MBCMechachu: less a de-extinction than a hybridization.

[barbaracole]

I think it would be cool to have the 🦤 back, but I also agree that it would be better to spend the money on saving species that are close to extinction now. I read that the Nicobar pigeon from SE Asia is its closest living relative, so it would make sense to use their eggs.

[msdsez]

Science always has our back. The Demon In The Freezer: A True Story by Richard Preston 2001.

[johnCOR-]

I would be against it. One it is morally wrong, and second if they did it, only a small amount of the dodo’s DNA is in it. So it would not be a dodo it would be a mutt of a bird. Personally, we should not meddle with God’s creations.

[herrneumrich]

I'd be in for that idea. They'd probably survive better bred into a hybrid and they'd have to be protected. But after all - imagine how much of an achievement that would be! Maybe our children or children's children will be able to see Dodos again. Or at least what they looked like. In real life! That would be nice.



Maybe there are going to be pet dodos in the future? Plus my nickname at work is Dodo as well so that would make it perfect lol