An audacious collaboration between geneticists and conservationists plans to bring back the extinct dodo and reintroduce it to its once-native habitat in Mauritius.
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US-based biotechnology and genetic engineering company Colossal Biosciences, which is pursuing the “de-extinction” of multiple species, including the woolly mammoth, has entered a partnership with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation to find a suitable location for the large flightless birds.
James described the project as “an amazing engine of innovation for avian genetics, genomics, and cell biology,” in part because “most of the technologies that we use for cloning in mammals does not exist in birds today.” However, he declined to put a timeline on when the first embryo will be created.
Black River Gorges National Park, with its pockets of restored forest, is one location being considered; neighboring nature reserves Round Island and the islet of Aigrettes are two others.
The island and islet are not home to natural predators, he explained, whereas on the mainland, invasive species including rats, feral cats, pigs and dogs, monkeys, mongooses, and crows may need to be “excluded, rehomed or even controlled” for Colossal’s dodo to thrive.
While agreeing that the dodo could have a hand in dispersing seeds, Julian Hume, an avian paleontologist at London’s Natural History Museum, who has studied the bird, offers caution.
Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Colossal, argued that “restoring the dodo gives us the opportunity to create ‘conservation optimism,’ that hopefully inspires people around the globe, specifically the youth, in a time when climate change, biodiversity loss and politics can make things seem hopeless.”
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US-based biotechnology and genetic engineering company Colossal Biosciences, which is pursuing the “de-extinction” of multiple species, including the woolly mammoth, has entered a partnership with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation to find a suitable location for the large flightless birds.
James described the project as “an amazing engine of innovation for avian genetics, genomics, and cell biology,” in part because “most of the technologies that we use for cloning in mammals does not exist in birds today.” However, he declined to put a timeline on when the first embryo will be created.
Black River Gorges National Park, with its pockets of restored forest, is one location being considered; neighboring nature reserves Round Island and the islet of Aigrettes are two others.
The island and islet are not home to natural predators, he explained, whereas on the mainland, invasive species including rats, feral cats, pigs and dogs, monkeys, mongooses, and crows may need to be “excluded, rehomed or even controlled” for Colossal’s dodo to thrive.
While agreeing that the dodo could have a hand in dispersing seeds, Julian Hume, an avian paleontologist at London’s Natural History Museum, who has studied the bird, offers caution.
Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Colossal, argued that “restoring the dodo gives us the opportunity to create ‘conservation optimism,’ that hopefully inspires people around the globe, specifically the youth, in a time when climate change, biodiversity loss and politics can make things seem hopeless.”
The original article contains 1,424 words, the summary contains 237 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!