Scientists launch a project to bring back the dodo

They were once found on Mauritius, but since 1700 dodos have disappeared from the face of the earth. However, special birds can return at any time.

Mauritius

They were once found on Mauritius, but since 1700 dodos have disappeared from the face of the earth. However, special birds can return at any time.

If there’s one animal that’s invariably mentioned when it comes to extinct animals, it’s the dodo. The chubby birds with their big legs and striking beaks are fun to see. However, the animal ended entirely in the hands of man. Can he be brought back to life at the hands of this same man?

jurassic park

It looks like some kind of Jurassic Park, but progress is being made to be able to bring the bird back. You can argue how responsible such a thing is, but we as Dutch can certainly imagine more why than why not. Our colonization of the island has made the habitat of the dodo unlivable.

Raphus cucullatus, as the animal is also called, is said to be extinct by the Texas-based company Colossal Biosciences. The dodo is not alone in this, as it also wants to bring back the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger from the dead. The US Innovative Technology Fund has just invested $150 million specifically to launch the dodo project. The “functional dodo” is meant to be returned to the island it came from.

Functional sleep

Dodo functioning is a bit like a robot: but that has everything to do with the fact that we will never be able to fully restore a race to the way it was. He must be able to survive in the current circumstances, otherwise history will repeat itself at a rapid pace.

We have yet to see how exactly scientists will approach it. In any case, biotechnology creates a kind of simulation. Dodos seem to have about the same brain capacity as a pigeon and although they are often referred to as dumb, their intelligence isn’t all that bad. However, they aren’t exactly complex, which should make it easier to craft a new dodo.

Egg

Why so many people invest money in a project like this isn’t usually because they’re big Dodos fans. They believe that this science can help in the fight against climate change. If we can create animals that are better suited to the challenges of this time, it can help them survive.

Before that happens, scientists must first obtain dodo DNA that is still completely intact. If the Copenhagen sample the researchers have in mind is really as good as they think it is, then they’re at least one step closer to that dodo dream. One small step: scientists must then make an egg, which is much more difficult than imitating a mammal. You can’t just edit DNA and put it into an egg. They will have to use eggs from other birds for this.

Either way, we’re still a long way from making a baby dootje and probably the final ethical discussions about it haven’t happened yet.