On Friday at a National Geographic sponsored TEDx conference, scientists met in Washington, D.C. to discuss which animals we should bring back from extinction. They also discussed the how, why, and ethics of doing so.
They called it "de-extinction."
There are a few guidelines for which ancient species are considered, and sadly, dinosaurs are so long dead they aren't in the picture. Their DNA has long ago degraded, so researchers are fairly sure that Jurassic Park will never happen.
But there are plenty of other animals on the table. The list of candidates is actually pretty long, considering.
Here are the 24 animals they are hoping to one day resurrect.
The Carolina Parakeet was the only parrot species native to the eastern United States. The last wild specimen died in 1904 in Florida. There are multiple reasons for its extinction, but a contributing factor was the demand for its colorful feathers to decorate ladies' hats.
This beautiful bird is the Cuban Macaw. It lived in Cuba and was the last species of Caribbean macaw to go extinct, due to deforestation from human settlement. The last ones died off before the 1900s.
The mythical Aurochs is not a myth at all actually. It is the ancestor of domestic cattle and lived throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa. They died off in 1627.
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