Colossal Biosciences Outlines Moa Resurrection Project
A Texas-based biotech company has announced ambitious plans to bring the moa back from extinction. In partnership with the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre and Canterbury Museum, and backed by filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson, Colossal Biosciences says it expects to “resurrect the South Island Giant Moa and other taonga Species.”
The genetic engineering team is extracting and assembling DNA from moa remains and investigating related South American species as potential donor animals. Colossal expects to bring back the moa within five to eight years, aiming to release the animal into “expansive, secure ecological reserves.”
“Colossal Biosciences and the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre are providing New Zealand conservationists with an unprecedented opportunity to recreate lost taonga (treasured) moa species. This Ngāi Tahu Research Centre-led initiative will drive new historical, ecological, and scientific discoveries on the path to recreating moa. The knowledge gained will be beneficial to all of New Zealand, to conservation, and the world,” said Paul Scofield, Senior Curator of Natural History at Canterbury Museum.
Scientific process and challenges
Colossal’s approach involves extracting and assembling DNA from well-preserved moa remains. The company is leveraging the extensive moa bone collections held by institutions and private collectors, including Sir Peter Jackson, who reportedly owns 300 to 400 specimens. The extracted DNA will be compared with that of living relatives, such as the emu and tinamou, to identify the genetic differences that made the moa unique. The emu, in particular, is considered a promising candidate for providing large eggs and embryos necessary for developing a bird of the moa’s impressive size.
In April, Colossal announced its “de-extinction” of dire wolves. Its chief scientist later told New Scientist magazine they are “grey wolves with 20 edits that are cloned.” However, the process of bringing back the moa will require “orders of magnitude” more DNA edits than Colossal’s previous projects, due to the greater evolutionary distance and the complexity of recreating a bird that stood up to 3.6 meters tall and weighed around 230 kilograms.
Māori Partnership Framed as Central, But Not Uncontested
Colossal says the project follows a careful, Māori-led, step-by-step approach, recovering ancient DNA, analysing genomes, and developing reproductive technologies. “Working with Ngāi Tahu experts to develop technologies that support moa restoration is an incredible scientific opportunity with profound cultural significance,” Dr. Anna Keyte, Avian Species Director at Colossal Biosciences, said.
Colossal CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm said he was honoured to contribute to the project under the direction of the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre. “This partnership represents a new model where indigenous leadership guides scientific endeavors, recognizing that traditional ecological knowledge and cultural context are essential to responsible de-extinction and species preservation efforts.
“There is so much knowledge that will be unlocked and shared on the journey to bring back the iconic moa.”
Peter Jackson lends high-profile support
Sir Peter Jackson said he was delighted to be on a mission to save some of Aotearoa’s most precious taonga. “With the recent resurrection of the dire wolf, Colossal has also made real the possibility of bringing back lost species. There’s a lot of science still to be done, but we can start looking forward to the day when birds like the moa or the huia are rescued from the darkness of extinction. Exciting times lay ahead!”
Scientists and Commentators Raise Cultural, Ecological Concerns
While Colossal Biosciences has framed its moa de-extinction project as a Māori-led, culturally grounded partnership, experts and Māori commentators say the reality is more complicated, and question the depth of Māori involvement and whether a lab-created moa could truly be considered taonga.
Ngāi Tahu, while a major South Island iwi, is not the only tribe with ancestral connections to the moa or a stake in its restoration. As Otago University Associate Professor Phillip Wilcox (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa) notes, “wider support from iwi members – and other tribal groups – is not guaranteed: it remains to be seen if these artificial facsimiles of moa that do not have a whakapapa relationship with Māori will be accepted as taonga.” He points out that some of the extinct moa species lived outside Ngāi Tahu’s traditional boundaries, meaning other iwi also have interests that should be acknowledged. Whether they support the project is still an open question.
Is a hybrid moa still taonga?
Aroha Te Pareake Mead (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou), an expert in conservation policy, is blunt: “De-extinction is a misnomer, a false promise, that is rooted more in ego than a genuine effort to conserve species… what is created is a hybrid.” She points to international guidelines that clarify hybrids are not generally assessed as pure species, and questions whether a lab-created moa could ever fulfil the spiritual and ecological roles of the original.
Cultural authenticity concerns include data governance, benefit-sharing, and whether the project aligns with Māori priorities.
“What is reasonably certain, however, is that this initiative will not deliver emancipatory outcomes for nga iwi katoa,” Wilcox said. “Māori communities face numerous challenges and issues that such a project will not meaningfully address. A fuller, more thorough evaluation of this initiative is required to more clearly determine who will benefit – and who won’t.”
Conservation Experts Warn of Practical and Ethical Risks
Canterbury University Professor Tammy Steeves adds that “applying these technologies to conservation raises numerous complex questions that demand diverse perspectives and forms of knowledge, especially here in Aotearoa New Zealand.” She notes that the scientific challenges are immense, and there is “no straight line from ‘de-extinction’ to saving endangered species.”
There are also practical considerations. Associate Professor Nic Rawlence (Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory) points out that much of the moa’s original habitat has disappeared. “If you bring back animals, they are going to require conservation. Who’s going to conserve them? Who’s going to provide tangata whenua with the money to conserve them so we don’t create opportunity costs? That’s where money gets pulled from one area to conserve the de-extinct moa, and it could result in less money to conserve some of our other really endangered species that could result in their extinction.”
A global conversation on extinction and restoration
Whether the outcome will be a genuine ecological revival or a symbolic gesture remains to be seen. Still, the conversation it has sparked is already reshaping how New Zealand and the world think about extinction, restoration, and the future of conservation.
For more information, visit https://colossal.com/moa/
SPONSORED
