# Monetary value of Dodo breeding pair? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2007, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140 "2007-08-19T14:44:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/21 "2007-08-20T07:05:38Z")
And barbecued dodo wings – way better than chicken! I know there’d only be four wings, but you don’t want these birds flying away, so you may as well use the wings for something. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/22 "2007-08-20T08:16:28Z")
I think they could command quite a high initial value - imagine being the first theme park/wildlife sanctuary in the world to be exhibiting a living Dodo - visitors would flock in from everywhere. If they were allowed to breed substantially so as to become common, then the attraction value would tail off a fair bit. But if you were a scientist capable of resurrecting a breeding pair and you auctioned them on the open market, I think the price would skyrocket, especially if you weren’t going to resurrect any more - the winning bidder would be some entity that would breed neutered birds for sale under strict license that forbid further cloning or attempts at breeding. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/23 "2007-08-20T08:26:27Z")
Actually, a single breeding pair is _not_ going to be an ideal situation. Not enough genetic diversity to ensure that the species will survive. Admittedly, it’s better than nothing, but far from ideal. Of course, I don’t know if we have enough DNA from dodos available to even manage to clone a single breeding pair, much less multiple pairs. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/24 "2007-08-20T14:17:44Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] And barbecued dodo wings – way better than chicken! I know there’d only be four wings, but you don’t want these birds flying away, so you may as well use the wings for something. [/QUOTE] Dodos were flightless, so they wouldn’t fly away. But come to think of it, that’s even more reason to eat the wings. The dodo isn’t using them, after all. Mmmm… Kentucky Fried Dodo Wings. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/25 "2007-08-20T14:29:21Z")
Maybe you could hold Dodo races, with little monkeys as jockeys. Also would be useful for a live version of Alice in Wonderland. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/26 "2007-08-20T15:33:49Z")
Controvert: > [@](#): > > Good point, but what if the technology to clone Dodos only works on Dodos? Then [this guy](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=433144) won’t be hiring any of your engineers, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/27 "2007-08-20T16:57:20Z")
Good God, don’t do it, man! Didn’t you read _Jurassic Park_?!? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/28 "2007-08-20T18:13:26Z")
Were dodos savage predatory killing machines? ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/29 "2007-08-20T19:27:23Z")
Could you mix some Tyranosaurus Rex Dna with the Dodo? That could be cool. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/30 "2007-08-20T23:39:45Z")
Wouldn’t they get endangered species status and the federal government take over the birds. At that point they become a national asset and you loose the birds being reimbursed nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/31 "2007-08-20T23:45:41Z")
They might pass some rules to protect its habitat - [17th century Mauritius](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo) Hell, with the current administration, you could probably get a license to strip mine them for oil and minerals. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/32 "2007-08-21T11:51:30Z")
[QUOTE=capybara] Plock plock. [/QUOTE] Jasper Fforde posing with [dodo](http://www.madeleineshepherd.co.uk/photo_1227383.html)! ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/33 "2023-02-01T23:19:26Z")
Unfortunately I think the OP has left this forum, but there may be good news: > **[Scientists plot the resurrection of a bird that's been extinct since the 17th...](https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/31/world/dodo-bring-back-from-extinction-colossal-scn/index.html)** > > No other animal is as inexorably linked with extinction as the dodo, an odd-looking flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean until the late 17th century. > **[A 'De-Extinction' Company Wants to Bring Back the Dodo](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tech-company-invests-150m-to-bring-back-the-dodo/)** > > The de-extinction company known for its plans to resurrect the mammoth and Tasmanian tiger announces it will also bring back the dodo > **[The next de-extinction target: The dodo](https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/the-next-de-extinction-target-the-dodo/)** > > Bird reproduction will make bringing the dodo back a big challenge. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2023, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140/34 "2023-02-02T00:11:45Z")
“The next de-extinction target” would sound a lot more impressive, if they’d ever hit any of their other targets yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monetary-value-of-dodo-breeding-pair/416140.md?page=1)