“Can we bring animals back from extinction?” In a panel discussion on this topic organised recently by the Royal Society, evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro mentioned that if there were an animal she would like to bring back from extinction, it was the dodo. This follows on the fact that researchers at her lab at the University of California, Santa Cruz have succeeded in isolating the entire genome of the dodo.
What is the dodo, and why is it so interesting?
The dodo is a bird that lived in the Mauritius region and was last spotted 350 years back, in 1662. Since then it has become extinct. It would not be exaggerating to say that it is the very symbol of extinction. The phrase “dead as a dodo” is common in English to refer to something totally dead. The form of the bird has been revived from old drawings and the closest resemblance is in an Indian Mughal painting rediscovered in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. In the painting it is slimmer and browner than in other descriptions. It is believed to be a more accurate depiction because it is pictured along with other birds which can be easily identified. The painting is by Mughal painter Ustad Mansur, probably commissioned by Emperor Jahangir who was famous for getting flora and fauna documented in paintings.
