Researchers have sequenced the genome of the dodo, a first step toward potentially bringing the bird back from extinction, the Telegraph reports.
The dodo, it notes, went extinct in the 17th century due to hunting by people as well as cats, dogs, and pigs. According to the Telegraph, the University of California, Santa Cruz's Beth Shapiro and her colleagues were able to generate a dodo genome from specimen stored in Denmark. Shapiro tells it that even with its genome sequence, it will be tricky to resurrect the dodo, especially due to the complexity of bird reproduction.
Additionally, the Telegraph notes that what emerges might not quite be a dodo, as researchers would most like use gene editing approaches to transform the closely related Nicobar pigeon's genome to that of the dodo's.
The University of Bristol's Mike Benton tells the Telegraph that bringing back the dodo might be a better choice than bringing back more long-ago animals as the dodo has a better chance of surviving current environmental condition — other de-extinction efforts have focused on, for instance, the woolly mammoth.