The dodo has been the punchline of extinction for three centuries. We’ve used its name to describe idiots, failures, and things that are hopelessly gone. But honestly? That’s about to change.
Scientists are currently working in labs to reverse a mistake made in the 17th century. It sounds like a C-list sci-fi plot. It isn't. Bringing back the dodo is a massive, multi-million dollar venture that combines gene editing, ancient DNA recovery, and a fair amount of ecological hope. Colossal Biosciences, the Texas-based "de-extinction" company, made headlines by announcing the dodo is their third major target, right alongside the woolly mammoth and the thylacine.
People think we’re just going to clone a bird from a dusty museum bone. You can’t. DNA degrades. It breaks into a billion tiny, frustrating pieces. To get a dodo back, you don't just "print" a bird; you have to rewrite the blueprint of its closest living relative.
The Nicobar Pigeon: The Dodo’s Unlikely Cousin
If you saw a dodo, you’d see a 3-foot-tall, flightless giant. If you see its closest living relative, the Nicobar pigeon, you see a small, iridescent bird that flies perfectly well. Evolution is weird like that.
Beth Shapiro, a lead paleogeneticist and an advisor to Colossal, has spent years sequencing the dodo genome. Her team had to find a high-quality specimen, which they eventually did in Denmark. By comparing the dodo’s genetic code to the Nicobar pigeon, scientists can identify the specific spots where the DNA differs. These are the "glitches" or "upgrades" that made a dodo a dodo.
How gene editing actually works here
They use CRISPR. Most people have heard of CRISPR as a way to fix human diseases, but here, it’s a biological scissors-and-paste tool. Scientists take primordial germ cells (PGCs) from a Nicobar pigeon—these are the cells that eventually become sperm or eggs.
They edit those cells to match the dodo’s DNA.
Then, those edited cells are injected into a host embryo—likely a chicken or another pigeon. When that host bird grows up and mates, its offspring won't look like the parent. If everything goes right, the baby that pops out of that egg will be a dodo. Sorta.
Why bringing back the dodo is a logistical nightmare
Don't get it twisted: we aren't getting a 100% identical carbon copy of the Raphus cucullatus. It’s a proxy. It's a "functional" dodo.
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The environment in Mauritius, where the dodo lived, is a mess. When the dodo went extinct around 1681, it wasn't just because sailors were hungry. It was the pigs. The rats. The monkeys. Humans brought invasive species that ate dodo eggs and competed for food. If we dropped a lab-grown dodo onto the island tomorrow, it would be dead within a week.
Rewilding is the hard part. You have to fix the island before you bring back the bird. This involves massive invasive species removal projects that are already controversial. Some locals are all for it; others think the money should go toward saving birds that aren't dead yet, like the pink pigeon.
The "God Complex" and Ethical Roadblocks
Critics like Julian Hume, a paleontologist who has spent his life studying dodo fossils, have raised valid points. Is it a dodo if it doesn't have dodo parents to teach it how to behave?
Birds learn. They have social structures. A dodo raised by a Nicobar pigeon in a lab in 2026 is going to be an awkward, confused creature. There is a real risk that we create a "zoo specimen" that has no place in the wild.
There's also the cost. Bringing back the dodo costs tens of millions. Conservationists often argue that this money could save dozens of species currently on the brink of extinction. It’s the "Sunk Cost" vs. "Cool Factor" debate. But Colossal argues that the technology developed for the dodo—like avian gene editing—can be used to save those other birds too.
What the public gets wrong about dodo behavior
We think they were stupid. They weren't.
They were "naïve." Because they evolved on an island with no natural predators, they didn't know to run away from humans. Brain scans of dodo skulls actually show they had a brain-to-body size ratio similar to other pigeons, which are actually quite smart. They had a great sense of smell. They were specialized survivors.
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The Timeline: When will we see one?
Colossal hasn't given a "birth date" for the first dodo chick, but they are moving fast. They've already successfully isolated the PGCs for the Nicobar pigeon.
- Step one was the genome. Done.
- Step two is the cell engineering. In progress.
- Step three is the surrogate bird. This is the big hurdle.
We are likely looking at the late 2020s or early 2030s for a physical prototype. It won't be a flock. It will be one very expensive, very famous chick in a high-security lab.
Actionable Insights for the Future of De-extinction
If you’re following this space, don't just look at the headlines. The dodo is a "flagship" species meant to drive investment, but the real value is in the secondary tech.
Watch the "Invasive Species" legislation in Mauritius.
The success of the dodo depends entirely on whether the Mauritian government can successfully clear rats and pigs from protected areas. Without a habitat, the dodo is just a lab experiment.
Follow the work of the Revive & Restore foundation.
They are the pioneers of this movement. They provide the ethical frameworks that companies like Colossal use. Understanding their "Genetic Rescue" toolkit gives you a better idea of how this tech will be used for near-extinct species like the black-footed ferret.
Support local avian conservation.
If the idea of a dodo excites you, remember that the Hawaiian crow and the Javan green magpie are basically the "dodos of tomorrow." The same gene-sequencing tech being used for de-extinction is currently being used to identify genetic bottlenecks in these living birds.
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Bringing back the dodo isn't just about fixing the past. It’s about building a toolkit for a future where extinction isn't necessarily permanent. It’s messy, expensive, and controversial, but it’s no longer a fantasy. The bird is coming back—we just have to make sure the world is ready for it.