Will the dodo come back? The de-extinction project dividing science

A dodo de-extinction project promises to revive a bird extinct for 300 years, but the costs and ecological doubts have set supporters and critics against each other.

English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published

Dodo de-extinction promises to bring back a bird extinct for three centuries, but skepticism is growing over the costs and the real priorities

A clumsy bird, unable to defend itself, that went extinct 300 years ago. Now a genetic editing project aims to bring it back to life. The news, published by Infobae on September 18, 2025, claims the dodo would return to the forests of the Indian Ocean thanks to a collaboration between scientists and conservationists. After the "successes" with the woolly mammoth and the dire wolf, de-extinction technology keeps advancing, but the debate over its usefulness has grown rougher than ever.

Business venture or billionaire's whim?

The genetic initiative that would allow the recovery of Raphus cucullatus has been described by some analyses as a pastime for eccentric billionaires. Meanwhile, the cost of establishing a viable colony remains uncalculated, and the environmental impact of reintroducing a vanished species into an ecosystem that has changed drastically over three centuries is an open question. Some argue that the resources devoted to these projects could be used to save species currently under threat, other birds and plants whose ecological value is well known.

From the dodo to silphium: questionable priorities

The comparison with silphium, a plant extinct since antiquity that was used as a contraceptive and aphrodisiac, illustrates the paradox: while fortunes are invested in bringing back a bird that was once hunted to extinction because of its poor ability to escape, there are lost natural resources that could have real medical or economic applications. The question hanging in the air is whether de-extinction serves a legitimate scientific interest or the whim of a few.

Monsters or resurrection?

Technical skepticism also has solid arguments. Genetically manipulated hybrids can produce creatures that die within hours, as has already peine in other attempts to clone extinct species. The long-term viability of these animals in the wild, their ability to integrate into the food chain and reproduce without human assistance are doubts scientists have yet to resolve.


Meanwhile, the dodo, that bird that never left the popular imagination, is peeking back into reality. But who really benefits from its return is a question not even the best genetic engineering can answer.

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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (22 replies).

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