US company aims to resurrect bluebuck antelope that was hunted to extinction
Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based company, aims to resurrect the bluebuck antelope, which was hunted to extinction by European settlers around 1800. The effort involves genome editing of the closely related roan antelope and is part of a broader de-extinction initiative that includes species like the woolly mammoth and dodo. The company argues that de-extinction could help address human-caused extinctions and support conservation of threatened species.
- ▪The bluebuck was hunted to extinction approximately 34 years after it was first scientifically documented.
- ▪Colossal Biosciences is using genome editing on roan antelope cells, the bluebuck's closest living relative, to reintroduce bluebuck traits.
- ▪The company has already created pluripotent stem cells in roan antelope and is working toward embryo development and implantation in surrogate mothers.
- ▪A mounted bluebuck skin from the Swedish Museum of Natural History provided the primary source of DNA for the project.
- ▪Colossal previously announced the birth of three genetically engineered wolf pups using ancient DNA from dire wolves, which some experts describe as modified gray wolves.
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US company aims to resurrect bluebuck antelope that was hunted to extinctionSign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inboxAn artist's rendering of the extinct African antelope species called the Bluebuck.PHOTO: REUTERSPublished Apr 30, 2026, 08:30 PMUpdated Apr 30, 2026, 09:12 PMListenWASHINGTON - The bluebuck, an antelope with a silvery slate-blue coat and striking horns, inhabited the coastal grasslands of South Africa’s southwestern Cape region until European settlers hunted it to extinction in around 1800. A US company now plans to resurrect the bluebuck as part of its de-extinction efforts.
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