More than 200 years ago, the bluebuck disappeared from southern Africa. Now the US biotech company Colossal Biosciences is working to bring this extinct species back to life, at least in part. The approach is known as de-extinction.
Image: Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The bluebuck (Hippotragus leucophaeus) was an antelope found exclusively in the open grasslands of southwestern South Africa. Contemporary accounts describe the species’ coat as gray with a slight bluish sheen—a trait that gave the species its name. As early as the 17th century, the bluebuck was considered rare and was confined to a comparatively small range.
What stands out is how fragmentary our knowledge of this species remains to this day. The only confirmed evidence consists of a few museum specimens as well as some bone and horn finds. Observations of living animals are scarcely documented, and depictions are based on stuffed specimens. The bluebuck thus disappeared at a time when it was barely documented scientifically.
In 1799 or 1800, the last known animal was killed. The bluebuck is therefore regarded as the first large African mammal to be exterminated in historical times. The main causes are considered to have been intensive hunting by European settlers, habitat loss through agricultural use, and competition with livestock.
For assessing the de-extinction project, one point is crucial: the bluebuck did not disappear through a slow natural process, but within a short period as a result of intense human impacts. The decisive question, then, is whether the conditions that led to its extinction have actually been overcome today.
Colossal’s plan: How is the bluebuck supposed to “return”?
Colossal Biosciences recently announced that it has in fact been working since 2024 to recreate the bluebuck in a modern form. The approach follows a pattern already used in other de-extinction projects—such as the mammoth, dire wolf, dodo, or thylacine.
In the first step, genetic material was obtained from museum specimens, including samples from the Swedish Museum of Natural History. The aim is to reconstruct the bluebuck genome as completely as possible. On that basis, genetic variants can be identified that are responsible for characteristic traits—such as the curved horns, the bluish-gray coat coloration, or the light patch on the face.
This reconstructed genome is then compared with the genetic material of closely related species. The main references are the roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) and the sable antelope (H. niger), with which the bluebuck shares more than 98% of its genetics.
The next step is the actual genome editing: specific genes of the roan antelope are deliberately modified to reproduce key traits of the bluebuck. The modified cells are then further processed using modern reproductive technologies. These include reprogrammed stem cells (iPSCs), in vitro fertilization, and the development of an embryo in the lab.
This embryo is then meant to be carried by a roan antelope. The gestation period is about nine months. According to the company, the first animals could be born within the next few years.
Image: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Colossal’s argument—and the criticism
Colossal is pursuing several goals with its bluebuck project. Alongside the development of new biotechnological methods, it also aims to use them in species conservation in the future while at the same time drawing attention to the loss of biodiversity. From the company’s perspective, advances from de-extinction research could help stabilize genetically depleted populations or provide targeted support to threatened species.
CEO Ben Lamm argues, for example, that the methods developed through the project—such as in reproductive technology and cell biology—could also benefit other critically endangered antelopes, for example the hirola (Beatragus hunteri). Among the highlighted advances are the successful retrieval of egg cells from the roan antelope and the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). In this process, mature cells are returned to a stem-cell-like state from which different tissue types can develop. This is a technology that could in principle also be relevant for species conservation.
In addition, the analysis of bluebuck DNA is expected to provide new insights into its evolutionary adaptations. This knowledge could help us better understand and protect today’s specialized and threatened hoofed mammals. In this sense, Colossal sees the project as a bridge between de-extinction research and practical conservation.
Set against this, however, is an acute need for action: around 30 antelope species worldwide are considered highly threatened, including not only the hirola but also the addax (Addax nasomaculatus), the dama gazelle (Gazella dama), and the giant sable antelope (Hippotragus niger variani). Many of these species suffer from habitat loss, fragmentation, and declining genetic diversity—problems that require immediate conservation measures.
This is precisely where the criticism begins. Many scientists doubt that de-extinction can currently make a concrete contribution to practical species conservation. Instead, it is often seen as a complex and costly experiment whose benefits remain unclear.
One central objection is therefore: the available resources would be used much more effectively to protect species that are still alive today. After all, classic measures have already proven successful. Breeding programs and reintroductions have, for example, saved the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) and the scimitar-horned oryx (O. dammah) from final extinction.
Image: Zachi Evenor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Is there even any suitable habitat left?
One important criticism concerns not so much the technology as ecological reality. The bluebuck originally lived in the coastal grasslands of southwestern South Africa, especially in what are now the Western Cape and Eastern Cape regions. These habitats were limited in extent and highly specialized.
Today, they hardly exist in their original form anymore. More than 90% of these habitats have been converted into agricultural land, fragmented, or fundamentally altered by human use. The habitat to which the bluebuck was adapted has therefore largely disappeared.
The roan antelope serves as the genetic basis for the reconstruction, and today it lives mainly in the savannas and open woodlands of eastern and southern Africa—that is, in clearly different ecosystems. This raises the question of where a “reconstructed” bluebuck could actually be reintroduced.
Image: Chris Eason from London, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
One could argue that such an animal would have to manage in the roan antelope’s habitat, since it is genetically based on that species. Yet targeted genetic modifications affect not only outward traits but potentially also physiological adaptations to environmental conditions. In a species that was originally specialized, even smaller changes could be decisive.
In addition, behavior and ecological role cannot simply be reconstructed genetically. Such a “bluebuck” would have neither the species-specific behavioral patterns nor the historical interactions with its environment. It would therefore be neither a true bluebuck nor a typical roan antelope, but an animal without a clear ecological classification.
At the same time, even closely related species such as the roan antelope continue to lose habitat. The underlying factors—land conversion, fragmentation, and human pressure on land use—therefore persist. So can a “revived” animal return to an ecosystem that no longer exists in its original form, or would we be creating an animal for which there is no clearly suitable habitat left?
According to Colossal Biosciences, the company is already working with conservationists, landowners, and authorities on possible reintroduction strategies. However, no specific locations have been named so far.
De-extinction or synthetic proxy?
When Colossal Biosciences speaks of “de-extinction”—that is, a revival—this is scientifically accurate only to a limited extent. The result of the project will not be a true bluebuck, but a genetically modified animal based on the roan antelope that reproduces individual outward traits of the bluebuck.
A species is not defined solely by its appearance. Behavior, reproductive biology, and its specific ecological role are just as decisive—characteristics that cannot simply be reconstructed through targeted genetic modifications. Whether such an animal could take over the original function of the bluebuck in the ecosystem therefore remains open.
For this reason, critics speak of a “synthetic proxy”: a biological substitute that imitates certain traits without restoring the original species in its entirety.
An earlier project by the company provides an example: the “reconstructed” dire wolves (Aenocyon dirus) presented in late 2024 and early 2025 were genetically based on the gray wolf (Canis lupus). Through targeted changes to 14 genes, animals were created that resemble the model species that went extinct around 13,000 years ago, but biologically they are not true dire wolves. Instead, they are genetically modified gray wolves.
Return of a species or technological illusion?
Colossal Biosciences’ project is certainly fascinating from a scientific perspective. It shows how far genetic technologies have developed today and what potential they hold. But what exactly is actually being brought back here? Not a true bluebuck, but a genetically engineered substitute whose ecological role is unclear.
What matters here is less the technical feasibility than the context: the bluebuck did not disappear by chance, but as a result of human intervention. These underlying conditions—especially altered habitats and ongoing human pressure—have still not been overcome in many places to this day.
Against this background, de-extinction looks less like a return and more like an experiment: an attempt to recreate lost species without having fully solved the causes of their disappearance.
Even so, such projects do have an effect. They bring extinct species back into the public consciousness and remind us that species extinction is not a closed chapter. Whether this will also produce concrete benefits for species conservation, however, remains to be seen.
Sources
- Colossal Biosciences. (2026). Bluebuck: Bringing back the bluebuck antelope. Colossal Bluebuck Project Page.
https://colossal.com/bluebuck - Page, T. (2026). Colossal Biosciences says it’s been secretly working to bring back this extinct antelope. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/science/bluebuck-colossal-biosciences-deextinction-spc-c2e
About the author: Doreen Fräßdorf
Doreen Fräßdorf is the author and publisher of artensterben.de. She researches and writes about extinct and endangered species in the modern era, with a focus on red lists, scientific studies, historical sources, and current conservation efforts. The goal is a clear, evidence-based overview of biodiversity loss and species protection.
She is also the author of a non-fiction book about extinct modern-era mammals.
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