The Pyrenean Ibex, a Spanish species of wild goat, was officially declared extinct in 2000 when the last known member was felled by a falling tree. Luckily, samples of the last goat, Celia, were taken the previous year and preserved. Using domestic goats as both egg donors and surrogate mothers, Celia clones were made. After an initial failed attempt in 2003, there was a brief moment of success in 2009 when a cloned Pyrenean Ibex was born. Sadly, it died after seven minutes due to deformities in its lungs.

That was five years ago. The practical aspect of such a task is now no longer the question. Advances in synthetic biology now mean that the question is no longer could we resurrect extinct species, but should we.

There are numerous candidate species for resurrection, including the woolly mammoth, passenger pigeon, and the Tasmanian tiger. Proponents argue that these species could be returned to their native habitats or, failing this, be used as tools for outreach and education.

It is feasible that resurrecting old species could rescue threatened ecosystems and even restore those we’ve already lost. For instance, the resurrection of the woolly mammoth and its return to the Arctic as a grazing animal could lead to the restoration of arctic wildlife. If our species resurrections extended to plants, new drugs could feasibly be derived from extinct species.

Listed as one of fifteen global conservation issues for 2014 in a recent scientific paper, animal extinction is an increasingly pressing issue.

The paper highlights three potential methods that could be used to bring back any variety of iconic species that many feel have gone too soon: back-breeding, cloning, and genetic engineering.

Of these, only cloning would bring about an exact genetic replica of the extinct animal. However, the fact that the animal would have to develop within a foster species means that it may not be entirely identical to its long dead ancestors.
Critics argue that the inevitable media buzz around resurrecting extinct species will result in less attention on species currently facing extinction; that in trying to bring back the dead we will forget about those who are dying.

Indeed, with the number of forest elephants decreasing by 62 per cent between 2002 and 2011, critics of resurrection argue that efforts are best directed towards protecting the species we have now rather than trying to re-introduce old ones.
There are also claims that bringing extinct animals back to life is ‘playing God’, and that we don’t know what the ecological consequences will be. But equally, one could contend that we don’t know what will happen if we fail to reintroduce an extinct species.

The plan isn’t to go all Jurassic Park. No one is suggesting creating a herd of velociraptors is anywhere near a good idea. But we could potentially bring back species which might easily have survived through to modern day had it not been for human intervention.

Animals could be restored to their natural habitats, which have often remained mostly unchanged. The passenger pigeon went extinct on the 1st September 1914 and the last known Tasmanian tiger died in captivity on the 7th September 1936 – both less than a hundred years ago.

There are good arguments both for and against the resurrection of extinct species. There are ethical and ecological questions that need to be addressed. But if I’m honest, the child in me just wants to see a mammoth and I think many of those involved feel the same.