Texas-based Colossal Biosciences announced a project to resurrect the bluebuck antelope, extinct since around 1800 and the only large African mammal species to die out in recorded history. The company extracted DNA from a Swedish museum specimen and is editing roan antelope DNA to create a bluebuck proxy, with CEO Ben Lamm anticipating birth within years. The project requires fewer genetic edits than some of Colossal's other efforts and represents the company's first foray into bovids and mainland Africa. Conservation scientists like Dr. David Mallon acknowledge the scientific interest but question whether the $555 million-funded company's resources would be better spent protecting the 29 currently endangered antelope species, including the critically endangered hirola and addax.
Colossal Biosciences' Bluebuck De-Extinction Project and Scientific Methods
- ▪Colossal Biosciences announced a project to resurrect the bluebuck antelope, which has been extinct for around 200 years
- ▪Colossal Biosciences made 20 edits in 14 genes for the dire wolf project
- ▪Colossal Biosciences has already acquired roan antelopes for the bluebuck surrogate mother purpose
- ▪Colossal Biosciences began efforts on the bluebuck project in 2024
Scientific and Conservation Community Skepticism
- ▪The IUCN upgraded the scimitar-horned oryx from critically endangered to endangered in 2023
- ▪The scimitar-horned oryx was declared extinct in the wild in 2000 but was successfully reintroduced to Chad
Colossal's Broader De-Extinction Portfolio and Funding
- ▪Colossal Biosciences announced a plan to bring back the mammoth in some form by genetically modifying an Asian elephant in 2021
- ▪Colossal Biosciences was founded by Ben Lamm and Harvard geneticist George Church in 2021
- ▪Colossal Biosciences revealed the birth of three dire wolf pups created by altering the genetic makeup of the gray wolf in 2025
- ▪Ben Lamm stated in 2021 that Colossal Biosciences aimed to have the first mammoth calves within four to six years
- ▪Colossal Biosciences received $555 million in funding by September 2025
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