Science & Technology

Scientists take 'pivotal step' in bringing back the extinct dodo

By T.K. Randall
September 18, 2025 ·  6 comments

Image: Dodos at the Natural History Museum in London (illustrative)
Credit: Txllxt TxllxT / CC BY-SA 4.0 (adapted) This iconic flightless bird, which once inhabited the island of Mauritius, is perhaps the best known example of a species hunted to extinction by man - a creature that has since become synonymous with the idea that our activities on this planet can have dire consequences for other species.

The first reported encounter with a dodo was by Dutch sailors in 1598 and by 1662 the species had been completely wiped out due to hunting and the destruction of its habitat.

Now, though, Texas-based de-extinction firm Colossal Biosciences has claimed that it has taken a "pivotal step" toward bringing the dodo back from the dead.

On Wednesday, the firm reported that it had, for the first time, succeeded in growing pigeon primordial germ cells - the precursor cells to sperm and eggs (the dodo was a type of pigeon).The firm also claims to have developed gene-edited chickens that will act as surrogates.

To create a dodo, the chickens would be injected with primordial germ cells from the dodos' closest living relative - the Nicobar pigeon.

Using gene editing, this would eventually make it possible to breed live dodos.

According to chief executive Ben Lamm, this could all be accomplished in less than 10 years.

"Our goal is to make enough dodos with enough genetic diversity engineered into them that we can put them back into the wild where they can truly thrive," he said.

"So we're not looking to make two dodos, we're looking to make thousands."

Source: The Guardian | Comments (6)

Tags: Dodo