A project of de-extinction of the Steller's sea cow was presented at EEF 2023
The Arctic Sirenia project was presented at the Eastern Economic Forum, which aims to revive the Steller’s sea cow, a sea mammal that was completely exterminated by humans 250 years ago.
During the «Islands of Russia» session at the Eastern Economic Forum, Sergei Bachin, the founder and investor of the project, presented a unique project «Arctic Sirenia». He noted that the project team has been conducting complex scientific work for several years to restore the genome of the Steller’s sea cow, which disappeared on planet Earth more than 250 years ago.
Scientists from several countries have now joined the race to resurrect animals lost to humanity, such as the mammoth and others. We created the «Arctic Sirenia» project and are reviving Steller’s sea cow. The genetic material of this animal is well preserved in Russia: we conduct expeditions on the Commander Islands, the Kuril Islands, including Paramushir Island. This work will take more than 10 years.
As Sergei Bachin emphasized, the population of a unique animal restored with the help of genetic technologies will attract additional attention of tourists to the Far East and the Kuril Islands: tourists will be interested in getting to know the Steller’s sea cow.