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Jurassic Park reminded us why bringing back massive prehistoric reptiles is a dangerous idea. After all, enormous dinosaurs aren't familiar with our tiny human existence and could easily crush us like insects, right?
Still, this hasn't stopped researchers from pushing forward with efforts to resurrect a variety of long-gone creatures, including the T.Rex.
Although they haven't fully succeeded yet—remember that poor goat that only survived a few minutes?—they remain determined to see their ambitious plans to revive extinct species come to fruition.
10. Colossal's Mammoth Resurrected
While not all experts agree that early humans caused the extinction of the woolly mammoth, most acknowledge that these massive creatures coexisted with humans who hunted them for sustenance. Woolly mammoths thrived in the icy tundra until around 1650 BC, feeding on grass and shrubs. As the ice caps began to melt, their primary food sources vanished, leading to their extinction.
Now, the biotech company Colossal Biosciences aims to resurrect these ancient giants using DNA and cutting-edge knowledge. Their 'de-extinction' initiative seeks to release newly created woolly mammoths into the Arctic tundra by 2027, recreating the very ecosystem where the original mammoths once roamed.
The plan involves combining mammoth DNA, found frozen beneath Siberian ice, with that of an Asian elephant. The result will be a creature known as a 'mammophant.'
While the potential benefits of this project include increasing elephant populations and restoring ecosystems that could combat climate change, many ecological experts have criticized it. They argue that a genetically created creature cannot replicate the original woolly mammoth's behavior, and they believe the logistical challenges of the project are insurmountable.
It seems that we'll have to wait until 2027 to see which side of the debate ultimately prevails.
9. Reviving the Moa
Centuries after the Polynesians settled in New Zealand, the moa went extinct. This flightless bird ranged from the size of a chicken to towering at 10 feet (3 meters). Nine moa species existed, with a population estimated at around 2.5 million.
At its peak, the South Island giant moa held the title of the tallest bird on Earth, with females often weighing over 500 pounds (227 kilograms). Unable to fly, they were easy prey for the Māori, who relied on them as a primary food source. With a slow reproduction rate, laying only one or two eggs at a time, the moa were wiped out within 150 years.
In 2018, Harvard University researchers revealed they had sequenced nearly the entire genome of the little bush moa, one of the moa species. By inserting this complete genome into the egg of a modern bird species, scientists believe they could recreate an animal resembling the extinct moa.
This is exactly what these scientists are aiming to achieve with the moa. Additionally, they are working on reconstructing the dodo genome, following the successful recreation of the Tasmanian tiger genome by Australian scientists.
As of 2023, no newly resurrected moa species are roaming the Earth, but experts are optimistic that the successful revival of the moa is within reach.
8. Could the Saber-Toothed Tiger Be Brought Back?
Saber-toothed tigers grew as large as today’s male polar bears, stretching up to ten feet (3 meters) in length and weighing nearly a ton.
With no natural predators, they hunted down bison, mammoths, and mastodons. They were distantly related to the modern cats we know today. The species eventually went extinct due to a mix of overhunting and climate change. In 2020, scientists mapped the saber-toothed tiger's DNA for the first time and discovered that these creatures likely used endurance hunting techniques and had excellent daytime vision.
Despite being extinct for over 10,000 years, there is a growing fascination with reviving the saber-toothed tiger. Mapping its DNA is only one step in the process, and significant progress has been made in ongoing research efforts to bring these mighty cats back to life.
The only thing preventing scientists from moving forward is the lack of sufficient recovered DNA. However, this doesn’t mean they won’t find a way to overcome this challenge and soon announce the revival of one of the most fearsome apex predators to ever roam the Earth.
7. The Lena Horse Could Gallop Again
In August 2018, researchers in Siberia were hunting for mammoth tusks when they unexpectedly found the exceptionally well-preserved remains of a Lena foal buried in the permafrost of the Batagaika crater.
During their investigation of the specimen, scientists were able to extract blood and urine from the foal, which is believed to have been only two weeks old when it became trapped in mud and perished over 40,000 years ago.
In 2019, scientists announced their confidence in reviving the Lena horse species using the blood samples taken from the foal's heart. They also declared the foal to be the best-preserved Ice Age discovery ever made.
At the time, scientists were still trying to find methods for cultivating viable cells extracted from blood samples and exploring various ways to use the internal organs to bring the Lena horse back to life.
6. Colossal and the Dodo
The dodo bird is believed to have gone extinct by 1662, which means that researchers today rely on historical artwork to determine what the bird actually looked like. No preserved dodo specimens exist, as the last stuffed specimen was destroyed in a museum fire in 1755.
For a long time, many doubted the very existence of the dodo. However, numerous discoveries of dodo bones proved them wrong. By 1832, scientists had already found a swamp in Mauritius filled with dodo bones, so abundant that they could simply reach into the water and pull them out. In 2005, researchers reported the discovery of a significant collection of bird bones, including nearly 20 complete dodo skeletons, on a sugarcane plantation in Mauritius.
The dodo's extinction was mainly caused by overhunting, deforestation, and their lack of fear of humans, which allowed hunters to easily destroy their nests.
Colossal Biosciences aims to bring the dodo back to life by editing the genomes of its modern relatives. While some experts are skeptical about the company's ability to achieve this, Colossal is confident that if they perfect the necessary genetic processes, the dodo will be revived.
5. Resurrecting the Extinct Cave Lion
Some scientists believe that the ancient cave lion shared more similarities with modern tigers than today's lions. However, the majority of experts agree that the cave lion was more similar to modern lions and is considered their ancestor.
Cave lions were large creatures, standing nearly 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall at the shoulder and stretching up to 7 feet (2.1 meters) in length. They preyed on reindeer and bear cubs and roamed a vast range that included Canada, Alaska, Eurasia, and China.
In 2018, the frozen remains of two cave lion cubs were found in Siberian permafrost. Initially thought to be siblings, further studies revealed that Sparta and Boris lived and perished 15,000 years apart. The cubs were astonishingly well-preserved, with their fur and whiskers still intact.
Upon learning of the discovery, Hwang Woo-suk, a South Korean geneticist, immediately set to work on a plan to resurrect the cave lion using tissue extracted from cubs. Though he has not yet succeeded, time will tell if we’ll ever see the cave lion roam the earth once more.
4. The Auroch Bull Might Return…
When it comes to creatures once roaming the earth, the auroch (wild ox) lived in Poland during the Holocene Period. It migrated during times when global temperatures rose to levels higher than normal.
These giant beasts stood up to six feet (1.8 meters) tall and boasted massive horns that reached more than 4.5 feet (1.3 meters). They left a significant mark on humanity, with their images painted on cave walls and even encountering Roman gladiators in battle.
The aurochs were found across Asia, India, and North Africa. Unfortunately, they became extinct in 1627 due to overhunting and habitat loss.
Since 2012, scientists have been diligently working to resurrect the auroch bull by using genetic material from modern cattle breeds. Their ambitious project is still ongoing, and recent developments suggest they are nearing their goal, fine-tuning the back-breeding process step by step.
If they succeed, we could witness the auroch roaming the dense forests once again, helping to restore ecosystems that were long lost.
3. The Return of the Legendary Dire Wolf. Sort of.
The dire wolf, though often considered a mythical creature, was very much real. It went extinct alongside saber-toothed tigers and mammoths at the close of the last ice age. Dire wolves were vastly different from the wolves we know today, to the point where researchers are considering creating a new classification for them.
These intriguing creatures hunted mammoths, horses, and bison. Some were so fixated on their prey that they became trapped and perished in the La Brea tar pits. Long before the dire wolf appeared in Game Of Thrones, Lois Schwarz initiated a project in 1987 to attempt breeding the species back to life.
Sort of.
Over the years, Lois Schwarz has been working to create an animal that resembles the dire wolf but has the friendly temperament of a dog. She started by breeding German Shepherds, then mixed them with various dog breeds, including Alaskan Malamutes, until she successfully bred the American Alsatian.
Although the American Alsatian is not a true dire wolf and never will be, its physical resemblance is undeniable.
Meanwhile, scientists have successfully sequenced the DNA of the dire wolf. However, since modern wolves share no genetic connection with the dire wolf, using back-breeding techniques to revive the species remains an impossible task.
2. Will the T. Rex Be Stomping Around by 2050?
One of the most thrilling ongoing research projects led by paleontologists and scientists worldwide is the effort to bring back dinosaurs, particularly the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The general agreement is that resurrecting dinosaurs is impossible due to the age of their fossils, which offer no usable tissue. However, the Adam Smith Institute isn't willing to let this hinder their attempts to back-breed flightless birds through DNA isolation technology. Birds are often considered modern-day dinosaurs, and by isolating their DNA and applying gene technology, the T. Rex, like the one in Jurassic Park, might walk the earth again by 2050.
The institute's ambitions go beyond just bringing back the T. Rex—they aim to use the same technology to resurrect additional dinosaur species.
1. The Return of the Steppe Bison Might Be Possible
Steppe bison once roamed vast areas across North America, Asia, Europe, Canada, and Mexico—regions collectively known as the Pleistocene bison belt.
These large creatures survived for half of the Holocene period before becoming extinct, much like many other ancient species, primarily due to overhunting and climate change. The oldest steppe bison fossil in the U.S. was discovered along the Porcupine River in 2006.
Numerous fossils, including one affectionately named 'Blue Babe,' have also been found in the permafrost of the Yukon. Blue Babe received its name because of the blue hue of its skin, a result of vivianite. The bison’s 36,000-year-old remains were so remarkably preserved that the cause of its death was immediately clear: severe wounds from a Beringian lion attack.
In 2016, a group of scientists revealed their intention to clone a Canadian wood bison, followed by an attempt to revive the steppe bison using remnants of a steppe bison tail found in the Siberian permafrost. Although no progress has been made yet, this doesn’t rule out the possibility of a future breakthrough.
