De-extinction in Action

The magnificent Pyrenean ibex, which fell into the abyss of extinction in 2000, is the one and only animal to have been recreated by means of cloning ... if only for a few moments. 

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

"Celia," the last ibex in the world, died after being rescued from beneath a fallen tree in the wild. Before she died, though, scientists collected DNA from her skin and preserved it in hopes of cloning her. Using these cells, researchers attempted cloning in 2009. After more than 50 attempts to implant Celia's cloned embryo in a living domestic goat, one embryo survived and was carried to term and born. 

This event marked the first de-extinction of all time. However, the newborn clone died just seven minutes after its birth as a result of lung defects.

Find out more about the ibex and efforts to bring it back from the land of the lost here.