A US company, Colossal Biosciences, says it is still working to bring extinct animals back to life. CEO Ben Lamm says they have all the technology they need and are confident they can revive species like the dodo, Tasmanian tiger and mammoth. Using DNA from the animals’ closest living relatives, the company aims to recreate the extinct creatures, with a goal of reintroducing them back into the wild.
Oracy
To bring an animal species back from extinction would be an amazing achievement. The question is, would it be right? Wouldn’t it be very hard on animals to fit back in to a world that has moved on without them? Should we do things just because we’ve discovered a way to make them work? Or is this a great way to right some of the wrongs of the past? Aren’t humans the only reason why animals such as the dodo are extinct anyway? Surely, we now know enough to find ways of giving them a happy, natural life once they’ve been released back into the wild. What do you think?
Writing skills
Imagine you actually lived two hundred years ago but have been brought back to life as a school pupil in 2024. Write a diary entry about your first day in the modern world. What would you think of all the advances we have made, from modern medicine and transport to computing and the internet? Would you be excited, scared or a bit of both? Remember to write in the first person and describe your feelings as well as your experiences.
Or
Create a poster for a zoo that only has extinct animals which have been brought back to life. Which would be your prize exhibits? Would your zoo specialise in conservation or would it just be for entertainment? Remember to use persuasive language, including an eye-catching headline, as well as useful information about where it is, when it opens and how much it costs (or a link to a website where people can find these details).
Investigate
Research and list ten animals that have become extinct within the last 100 years. Challenge: can you also list the five species that are currently most at risk of extinction?
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