10 EXTINCT ANIMALS THAT SCIENTISTS WANT TO REVIVE
The idea of reviving animals that have been gone for decades, centuries… even millennia, may sound far from reality. But what if I told you that, as crazy as it may seem, this idea already has a name, technology, and investment: it’s called de-extinction.
Using fragments of ancient DNA, genetic editing, and a good dose of boldness, projects around the world are working to bring back to life animals that, until recently, only existed in fossils, museums, and natural history books. And it’s already started!
The dire wolf has come back to life! Yes, you heard right. That prehistoric predator, which seemed to have been buried along with the last Ice Age, more than ten thousand years ago, has officially joined the list of the first animals to be revived through genetic engineering. And it’s not alone. In addition to this, nine other animals are in the sights of science — ready to, perhaps soon, cross our paths again. Let's start this list with this one:
THE TERRIBLE WOLF.
Ah... The dire wolf! A giant predator from the Ice Age that lived more than ten thousand years ago is officially back. Not in theory, not in hologram form, but as the first extinct animal to return healthy, for real, thanks to genetic engineering.
For those who don't know, the dire wolf was not just a "big and angry" wolf. It was one of the main predators of its time, weighing up to seventy kilos, with very strong jaws and teeth prepared to crush the bones of its prey. It lived in North America for hundreds of thousands of years, hunting bison, wild horses and other megafauna animals. It was bigger, stronger and more muscular than modern wolves, the kind of animal you wouldn't want to find in the forest. But with the end of the Ice Age, climate change and the extinction of its prey, it disappeared. And for thousands of years, it became just another fossil in the history books. But now, thousands of years later, it is back on the genetic map.
The company “Colossal Biosciences” announced that it has managed to bring to life a new version of the dire wolf — not an exact replica, but something very close. According to Time magazine, the feat did not involve the complete recreation of the original DNA of Aenocyon dirus (the scientific name for the dire wolf), but rather the genetic modification of the DNA of modern wolves.
About twenty regions of the genome were altered, focusing on striking characteristics of the extinct species: body size, structure of the shoulders and head, shape of the jaws, larger teeth, more muscular legs and even vocalization.
In other words, the animal that was born is not a clone of the original dire wolf, but rather a genetically modified hybrid — a modern wolf with physical and behavioral traits of its extinct ancestor.
Even so, the feat is historic: it is the first extinct animal to return successfully and in good health.
Before this, the only attempt that came close was in 2003, with the Pyrenean ibex — a species of mountain goat that had been declared extinct. Scientists managed to clone an embryo and even gave birth to the animal... But it only lived for exactly seven minutes before dying of lung failure.
The dire wolf, on the other hand, surpassed this mark by a wide margin. It is alive, stable and opening the doors to a new era of biotechnology. An era in which extinction, by all indications, may no longer be an end point.
And if you thought that was surprising... wait until you see the next ones on the list. Because the line for de-extinction is just beginning.
WOOLLY MAMMOTH.
This is perhaps Colossal Biosciences' most famous project. These close relatives of modern elephants roamed the frozen steppes of the Northern Hemisphere during the last Ice Age. They measured up to four meters tall, weighed more than six tons, had giant curved tusks and a natural coat of thick fur to face the extreme cold.
And although they disappeared about four thousand years ago, especially on isolated Arctic islands, they were never truly forgotten.
That's because, unlike many fragmented fossils, frozen mammoths have been found in an impressive state of preservation, with fur, soft tissue and even stomach contents intact. Some are so well preserved that they appear to have "fallen asleep" in the ice. One of the most famous finds was that of Yuka, a young female mammoth found in Siberia with her brain, muscles and even spinal cord preserved.
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