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Dodos
only layed one egg at a time and the pigs, dogs and monkeys
introduced by man made quick work of the dodo eggs also
aiding to the animals destruction. Scientists are to extract
DNA from a dodo for the first time, raising the prospect
that the animal whose name is synonymous with extinction
could be resurrected. British experts will recover fragments
of genetic material from a preserved head and foot kept
in Oxford University's Museum of Natural History.
The research will identify the closest living relative and
may pave the way to the recreation of the species. Ecologists,
however, have warned that bringing back an animal resembling
the dodo might persuade the public that there is no longer
any need to protect endangered species, as any creatures
wiped out by man could be recreated.
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