What does a mammoth smell like? Do dinosaurs bob their heads as they
walk, like today's birds? Do aurochs low like cows? You may soon find
out.
From the Siberian permafrost to balmy California, scientists across the
globe are working to resurrect all kinds of extinct animals, from ones
that just left us to those that have been gone for many thousands of
years. Their tools in this hunt are both fossils and cutting-edge
genetic technologies. Some of these scientists are driven by sheer
curiosity; others view the lost species as a powerful weapon in the
fight to preserve rapidly changing ecosystems.
It seems certain that these animals will walk the earth again, but what
world will that give us? And is any of this a good idea?
Science journalist Torill Kornfeldt travelled the world to meet the men
and women working to bring these animals back from the dead. Along the
way, she has seen the mammoth that has been frozen for 20,000 years and
visited the places where these furry giants will live again.