A Mammoth Task: How Do We Decide Which Species to Resurrect?

The resurrection of vanished species — through cutting-edge technologies such as gene-editing — should be targeted towards recently extinct species rather than ancient ones, according to a leading University of Otago conservation biologist.

In a guest editorial newly published online in the journal Functional Ecology, Professor Philip Seddon of the University’s Department of Zoology suggests that long-gone species such as the woolly mammoth would not be the best focus for de-extinction efforts.

Professor Seddon says the prospect of resurrecting species through cloning or genetic reconstruction through tools such as CRISPR gene-editing has caught the imagination of scientists and the public alike.

“However, while the idea of resurrecting mammoths, for example, might hold a ‘wow-factor’ appeal, efforts would likely be better directed instead towards species where the conservation benefits are clearer.

The woolly mammoth can theoretically be resurrected using samples taken from mummified remains preserved in permafrost (public domain)

“The ecological niches in which mammoths — or moa for instance — once lived, no longer exist in any meaningful way. If we were to bring such species back, apart from just as scientific curios, these animals would likely be inherently maladapted to our modern eco-systems.”