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Bikash Tataiya had never heard of Texas-based Colossal Biosciences before the company announced its plans to resurrect the dodo last year. The company, best known for trying to “de-extinct” the woolly mammoth, said it had made significant progress in genetically engineering a dodo-like bird that it would transport to Mauritius, one of the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean and the only habitat of the dodo before it went extinct.
As conservation director for the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation, Tataya has spent decades working to protect the country's remaining endemic species, from the Mauritius fruit bat to the pink pigeon, a relative of the dodo. So he was surprised that his organization hadn't caught on to the situation, and a little skeptical of the motivations behind the multi-million-dollar project. “The first thing I said was, 'Hold on a second. There are so many other species of plants and animals in Mauritius that are at risk of extinction. I'm sure that money could be put to better use.'”
The use of genetic engineering for conservation remains controversial, and many are especially wary of resurrecting extinct species. But a year later, Tataya believes that resurrecting the dodo could be a way to save endangered species, especially the pink pigeon. “I'm very hopeful that the dodo will come back,” he says.
An often overlooked point is that the biotech breakthroughs that Colossal and his colleagues are working on could have an important side benefit: They could pave the way for genetic tools to help different animals quickly resist pressures from changing environments. “The pace of change is faster than evolution in nature…
Source: www.newscientist.com
