science · 06 January 2000 · 25 years ago
In 2000, the last Pyrenean ibex was found dead under a fallen tree with a crushed skull, by forest rangers in the Ordesa National Park in northern Spain. The 13-year-old female, named Celia, was the last known survivor of Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica, one of the four subspecies of the Spanish ibex. Of those, another subspecies, the Portuguese ibex had already became extinct in 1892. Known locally as a bucardo, Celia was studied by scientists while she lived in captivity within the park. Shortly before her death, they had taken tissue and blood samples to preserve the DNA for a cloning attempt. On 23 Jan 2009, a baby Pyranean ibex was born from a surrogate gate, becoming the first extinct species to be resurrected. Sadly, the baby died 7 minutes later due to lung defects. The Pyranean ibex was thus also the first species to go extinct twice.
OnThisDay.net