I saw a Colossal Biosciences video earlier today, that showed some new artificial eggs they developed, that will let them bring back extinct birds much more easily, for much less money. They are bringing back Moas, a huge flightless bird that stood over 12' tall. With more recently extinct species, they can bring them back without all the gene editing they did for the dire wolves.

Mammoths are supposed to be back in 2028.

Keith

I think it will all be pretty cool when they do bring back multiple species. Not sure if they will be able to get the Ivory Bill back in the wild but anything is possible. Read where they need certain size trees that have been dead for a certain amount of time for food and shelter. Thought some of those massive tracks in AR and GA they could systematically kill some every year to provide what they need.

I might be the odd man out on this, but Im not excited about throwing what will likely be taxpayer funded grants to companies and universities to bring back species that werent fit enough to make it on their own in the first place. No need to upend the natural order of things and go against survival of the fittest.....

I saw one in Washington DC three years ago.
I held it in my hands.
The Smithsonian Institute provided us with a rare backdoor tour. It was a 100 year old soft mount.
I am no bird (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman), but I can tell you that I was very moved by the opportunity to hold it in my hands, so maybe, upon retrospect, I am indeed.
The bill looked like it was made of ivory, yellowish in color and somewhat translucent in appearance. It is not ivory, but its very obvious where the name came from.
The ornithologist who gave us the tour explained the most widely accepted theory of why they have not survived. They did not bore holes in solid trees for their nests like other woodpeckers, but instead utilized holes made by other birds or squirrels, or made their own holes in rotten wood. Their bills were not anywhere near as hard as ivory.
With the loss of extremely old growth forests which contained an endless supply of suitable nesting conditions, they declined.
As sad as it is to lose them, the fact of the matter is that over time everything goes extinct. Mother Nature is up to over 99% extinction rate currently.

Colossal Biosciences has been very upfront with how it's received it's funding and has never shown any taxpayer input. Colossal is currently valued at 10.2 billion dollars and has only raised 435 million dollars from private investors to reach that.

Keith

Much of it is undoubtedly hard to reach. Hard to believe a bird won't travel 3-4 miles though. I think it very unlikely any have survived.

If I remember correctly there was talk of further channelization of the White River when the ivory billed was "rediscovered" in Arkansas along the very same river system.

Ohio Boy, the one you have circled is a Pileated Woodpecker. The Ivory Bill is the one shown with the large white patches on the lower wings.