C2 Lesson: Should We Bring Back Extinct Species?

Level: C2 (Mastery)

Content Objective: Students examine the scientific, ecological, and ethical debate over de-extinction, weighing the promise of genetic technologies against the risks of spectacle, diverted resources, and ecological harm.

Language Objective: Students learn to use the subjunctive mood and hypothetical conditionals, including inverted forms, to discuss unreal, uncertain, and recommended actions in formal argumentative writing.

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1. Reading Section

In July 2003, a kid (no, not that kind of kid. A baby goat) was born by cesarean section in Spain. It lived for only a few minutes. The animal was a clone of the last Pyrenean ibex, a subspecies of mountain goat whose final member had been found dead beneath a fallen tree more than three years earlier. It was hailed as the first extinct creature ever brought back and, in the same breath, as the only one to have gone extinct twice. The episode set a precedent of a peculiar kind: it proved that resurrection was technically conceivable, yet showed just as clearly how little a laboratory triumph guarantees.

More than two decades later, the ambition has migrated from academic laboratories to venture-backed companies. In April 2025, Colossal Biosciences announced the birth of three wolf pups engineered with twenty edits to fourteen genes to resemble the dire wolf, a predator that vanished some 12,000 years ago. Its next targets include the woolly mammoth, for which it hopes to produce a first calf by 2028, a schedule it concedes is ambitious, as well as the dodo and the thylacine.

Supporters contend that it would be a mistake to dismiss the enterprise as mere spectacle. The techniques being refined, they argue, are already benefiting living species: a black-footed ferret was cloned from the frozen cells of an animal that had died more than thirty years earlier, and cloned Przewalski’s horses have helped restore lost founder genetics to a breeding population. Were every extinction to be treated as final, the argument runs, humanity would have abandoned the chance to repair some of the damage it has done.

Critics reply that the achievement has been oversold. The Canid Specialist Group of the IUCN concluded that the three animals are neither dire wolves nor valid proxies for them, and cautioned that such projects may divert attention from the conservation of living species; a gray wolf edited to resemble a predator whose prey and habitat disappeared long ago, it observed, fills no ecological niche. Cloning is also a blunt instrument: in the ibex experiment, six of the seven pregnancies ended in miscarriage, and unless an artificial womb can be developed, a mammoth-like calf would have to be carried for some twenty-two months by an endangered Asian elephant. Critics insist that funds be directed to protecting habitats and existing species, lest the glamour of resurrection eclipse the unglamorous work of prevention.

Even if the technical obstacles were overcome, the ecological ramifications would remain uncertain. The ecosystems in which mammoths and dire wolves once lived no longer exist, and releasing engineered animals into present-day landscapes could prove harmful. Advocates of caution insist that no animal be released until its effect on existing species has been assessed.

Be that as it may, the debate rarely turns on facts alone. To some, the ibex’s fleeting life is a warning against hubris; to others, it is a first draft of a future skill. Colossal’s announcements sometimes read as though extinction were merely an engineering problem awaiting a solution, whereas many species were lost to causes, such as habitat destruction and hunting, that no laboratory can undo. Suffice it to say that the question is not only whether we can bring a species back, but whether we are prepared to shoulder the stewardship that would follow. Should the first mammoth-like calf be born in 2028, that question will cease to be hypothetical.

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2. Vocabulary Section

Word / Phrase	Meaning	Example
precedent	an earlier event or decision that serves as an example or guide for later ones	The ibex episode set a precedent of a peculiar kind.
proxy	a person or thing that acts as a substitute for another	The IUCN group denied that the animals were valid proxies for the dire wolf.
spectacle	a visually striking public display, often one that lacks real substance	Supporters resist dismissing the enterprise as mere spectacle.
divert	to redirect attention, money, or effort from one purpose to another	Such projects may divert attention from the conservation of living species.
niche	the particular role and position that a species occupies within its ecosystem	An edited gray wolf, the group observed, fills no ecological niche.
ramifications	the complicated and often unwelcome consequences of an action or decision	The ecological ramifications would remain uncertain.
hubris	excessive pride or self-confidence, especially the kind that invites a downfall	To some, the ibex’s fleeting life is a warning against hubris.
stewardship	the responsible care and management of something entrusted to one	Bringing back a species would create a lasting duty of stewardship.

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3. Example Sentences (Target Grammar in Use)

• Critics insist that funds be directed to protecting habitats and existing species, lest the glamour of resurrection eclipse the unglamorous work of prevention.
• Advocates of caution insist that no animal be released until its effect on existing species has been assessed.
• Even if the technical obstacles were overcome, the ecological ramifications would remain uncertain.
• Were every extinction to be treated as final, the argument runs, humanity would have abandoned the chance to repair some of the damage it has done.
• Colossal’s announcements sometimes read as though extinction were merely an engineering problem awaiting a solution.
• Should the first mammoth-like calf be born in 2028, that question will cease to be hypothetical.

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4. Grammar Section

The Subjunctive Mood and Hypothetical Conditionals

The subjunctive mood expresses actions that are recommended, demanded, doubtful, or contrary to fact, rather than simply reported as true. In modern English it is rare in everyday speech but common in formal argument, where it lends precision to claims about what should happen or what might have been. Its forms are often identical to the base verb or to the past tense, which is why they are easy to overlook.

Structure	Pattern and Use	Example
Mandative subjunctive	verb or adjective of demand + that + subject + base verb (no -s, no tense change)	Advocates of caution insist that no animal be released until its effect on existing species has been assessed.
Were-subjunctive in unreal conditionals	if + subject + were / past simple, would + base verb: an unlikely or unreal situation	Even if the technical obstacles were overcome, the ecological ramifications would remain uncertain.
Inverted conditionals	Were + subject + to-infinitive / Should + subject + base verb / Had + subject + past participle: formal alternatives to if	Should the first mammoth-like calf be born in 2028, that question will cease to be hypothetical.
as though / as if + were	describes an impression that is unreal or doubtful	Colossal’s announcements sometimes read as though extinction were merely an engineering problem awaiting a solution.
Fixed subjunctive phrases	be that as it may; suffice it to say; lest + subject + base verb (“in case” or “to avoid”)	Be that as it may, the debate rarely turns on facts alone.

Quick Tip: The mandative subjunctive takes the bare base form for every subject: “that the company release,” “that she be,” never “releases” or “is.” Formal American English prefers it, while British English often substitutes should (“insist that funds should be directed”). Use were, not was, for all persons in formal unreal conditions (“if it were”), and remember that inverted conditionals drop the word if altogether: “Had conservationists acted earlier…”

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5. Comprehension Questions

A. True or False

1. The cloned Pyrenean ibex survived for several weeks after its birth.
2. The IUCN Canid Specialist Group accepted that the gene-edited wolves were valid proxies for the dire wolf.
3. Colossal has said it hopes to produce its first mammoth-like calf by 2028.
4. According to the passage, cloning has already helped restore genetic diversity in some endangered species.

B. Short Answer

5. Why does the author describe the ibex episode as setting “a precedent of a peculiar kind”?
6. What ecological objection does the IUCN group raise against the engineered wolves?
7. How do supporters and critics differ in their assessment of the technologies behind de-extinction?
8. The author presents the ibex’s life as “a warning against hubris” to some and “a first draft of a future skill” to others. Which reading, if either, does the passage favor, and how does the final paragraph shape your answer?

C. Fill in the Blank / Transform — Rewrite each sentence as instructed.

9. Use the mandative subjunctive: Critics insist that funding should go to protecting habitats.
10. Begin with “Had”: If conservationists had frozen cells from more species, scientists would now have more material to work with.
11. Begin with “Were”: If a mammoth-like elephant escaped, it would be difficult to recapture.
12. Complete with the correct subjunctive form: The press releases read as though extinction ___ (be) a solved problem.

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Next lesson: C2 — “Is Free Will Real? Philosophy Meets Neuroscience”