Should extinct animals be revived?

Supporters argue that bringing back extinct animals will help people correct the mistake of over-hunting, while opponents argue that money and time should be spent on conserving endangered species. pass away.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), nearly two-thirds of the world's wildlife has been lost in the past 50 years. Tens of thousands of species are also threatened with extinction. The impact of climate change, human impact and many other factors are the cause of the extinction of mammal species.

With the advancement of science and technology and advanced gene editing technology, scientists are getting closer and closer to success in resurrecting extinct mammals.

Graphic image of the Tasmanian tiger, a wolf-like marsupial that has been extinct for nearly a century

In mid-August, science lovers in general and animal lovers in particular were excited by the news that a group of Australian scientists announced the implementation of a project to revive the Tasmanian tiger, an extinct wolf-like marsupial. almost a century.

The team's ultimate goal is to return the creature to the wilds of Australia, where it lived as an apex predator before being hunted to extinction in the early 20th century.

To this end, the scientists plan to pair genetic material from old Tasmanian tigers with the DNA of their closest living relative, the dunnart, to create a new animal species that closely resembles a dead ancestor. its long ago.

Earlier, scientists also announced a project to revive the mammoth. This is a bold ambition and fraught with difficulties, as the mammoths became extinct 4,000 years ago, meaning there is very little genetic material left to study to revive them.

In addition, there are many other projects and plans to revive animals from many scientific research institutions around the world, with the hope that through gene editing and cloning methods will bring back the lost animals. , while protecting endangered species.

Is it a good idea to revive extinct animals?

This is a question that has been discussed for years, especially when Australian scientists announced plans to revive the Tasmanian tiger. Not only science lovers, but even those who do scientific research themselves, have expressed doubts about the importance of plans to revive prehistoric animals.

Advocates of the "anti-extinction" movement say that in addition to the miracle of "revival", scientific progress also gives us the opportunity to correct some of the mistakes made in the past by resurrecting species hunted to extinction by humans. Once revived, these creatures will help re-establish equilibrium in their ecosystem.

This can also bring benefits to people. For example, when the mammoths return, they could help combat climate change by slowing the erosion of permafrost in snowy regions. Ambitious anti-extinction projects will also open up breakthroughs in genetic science and could be used to protect endangered species in the future.

Model of woolly mammoth on display in France

Those who disagree with animal revival projects say that the most important things to implement these plans are money and time. A project to revive any animal, big or small, can cost billions of dollars with decades of research. The important thing is that no one can confirm that the project is successful or not.

Instead of spending huge sums of money on revival research, anti-extinction efforts will be much more effective if scientists' money, effort and time are used to conserve endangered species. muscle disappears.

In a nutshell, it's better to spend money on live animals than on dead animals.

In addition to a matter of time and money, many scientists also believe that even if successfully revived, these animals are "not exactly the same" as the existing species, but a different version with different characteristics. inherent biological score.

Would it be appropriate for them to return animals to a world very different from their previous one? How can their presence harm living organisms and humans? Even the larger ethical concerns of "playing God" by manipulating the natural order are issues of concern to scientists.

The problem of the whole world or of private companies?

The Tasmanian tiger and mammoth revival project is a collaboration between scientists in Australia and the US-based Colossal Biosciences. This is a genetic engineering and reproductive technology development company for conservation biology founded only in 2021 by American geneticist George Church and businessman Ben Lamm.

For many scientists around the world, this is more like a "business" than conservation.

"Reshaping the planet shouldn't be done by a few people or entities. Instead, Colossal and all similar companies should do something, like get the public involved. their research decisions, if they really want to protect the Earth's ecosystem," said British paleontologist Victoria Herridge.