18

  nvestment in de-extinction Whether or not Colossal and its team of scientists are ultimately successful in their quest to bring back the dodo and other extinct creatures, de-extinction projects, and the technological breakthroughs they may generate, have investors excited. Colossal also announced Tuesday that it has raised an additional $150 million, bringing the total amount of funding raised since the company launched in 2021 to $225 million. Critics, however, say the vast sums involved could be better put to use protecting the 400 or so bird species, and many other animals and plants, that are listed as endangered . “There’s so many things that desperately need our help. And money. Why would you even bother trying to save something long gone, when there’s so many things that are desperate right now?” said Julian Hume, an avian paleontologist at London’s Natural History Museum, who studies the dodo.