LOST SPECIES: The $100m-buck gamble: Should an extinct SA antelope roam the Cape again?
Texas biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences wants to bring back the bluebuck from extinction. The project’s significance may extend far beyond reviving the long-lost species, said to have sported a blue-grey hide.
Texas biotechnology firm Colossal Biosciences aims to resurrect the extinct bluebuck antelope found in South Africa. The species was lost about two centuries ago. If successful, Colossal says its work could help conserve other threatened species. The company is using genome editing to create embryos from a living relative, the roan antelope, and hopes to have the first birth "a couple of years away."
Colossal's CEO, Matt James, says the $100 million project is not just about reviving the bluebuck, but about developing new conservation technologies that could be applied to other endangered species. He argues that traditional conservation methods alone are not enough to keep pace with the rapid loss of biodiversity. James envisions the project as a catalyst for conservation efforts and habitat restoration, potentially driving economic and social benefits as well.
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