Scientists Are Bringing Back a Beautiful Blue Antelope That's Been Extinct for 225 Years

Colossal Biosciences, the team behind the woolly mammoth, just added another extinct species to their comeback list – and this one hits close to home.

If you thought bringing back the woolly mammoth was impressive, Colossal Biosciences is just getting started.

The Dallas-based company that made headlines for its mission to resurrect some of history's most iconic extinct creatures has a new member joining the list: the bluebuck, a breathtakingly beautiful silvery slate-blue antelope that vanished from the grasslands of South Africa around 800. And unlike some extinctions lost to the fog of prehistoric time, this one is squarely on us. The bluebuck was hunted to oblivion during the colonial era – prized for the unusual blue-silver shimmer of its coat – becoming the first large African mammal to go extinct in recorded history.

It disappeared just 34 years after scientists first formally documented it.

"The bluebuck represents a pivotal step forward for Colossal and conservation," said Ben Lamm, the company's co-founder and CEO. The project has actually been quietly underway since 2024, and the scientific breakthroughs are already piling up.

The team has sequenced a remarkably detailed genome from a preserved museum specimen in Sweden, created the world's first stem cells from a roan antelope – the bluebuck's closest living relative – and pioneered brand-new reproductive techniques that experts are calling breakthroughs for wildlife conservation.

But here's what makes this story even bigger than one antelope: the science being developed could help save 29 currently threatened antelope species worldwide. Think of it as constructing a conservation toolkit that keeps giving long after the bluebuck walks the earth again.

On the ground in South Africa, local conservation partners are already mapping out where and how the bluebuck might eventually be reintroduced – responsibly, thoughtfully, and with deep respect for the communities and ecosystems that call that territory home.

"The bluebuck is symbolic of southern Africa's lost natural heritage," said Dr. Yoshan Moodley, a South African zoology professor collaborating on the project.

Two hundred and twenty-five years after the last bluebuck disappeared, science is finally giving this stunning animal — and an entire family of endangered species – a second chance.