Merry Christmas everyone! Thanks for a great year!

I think Joe deserves some recognition for how he makes regular videos while also constantly hiding from his predator clone. Must be a nightmare trying to edit a video and then an evil version of you turns up with an axe.

I know that they weren't extinct, but wolves and bison re-introduction to their habitat seems to have had positive results.

I’m not going to lie Joe this was one of the smoothest segues you’ve done from topic to comic bit to advertisement. Nicely done!

Some people freeze up when terrified, just like rabbits. I'm sure I'm not the first person in the world to notice it, but when I noticed a rabbit freezing in place, it reminded me of when I was a child and terrified of a ghost (I don't believe in ghosts, but that's now. I was terrified of ghosts when I was about six or seven). I was so terrified that I couldn't move, I squeezed my eyes shut and froze completely. Seeing the rabbit freeze up because I was walking near by. It probably helps the rabbit survive, they blend in with the enviornment and look like a tree stump or something. They don't make noise. They freeze. We probably have those same genes as well.

Joe, you can never just make a nice, educational science video without some Family Guy-esque segway into the weirdest shit I've ever seen 😂

I want them to bring back the Kauai O'o because the recording of the last male of the spieces desperately singing for a female that would never come haunts my dreams and brings me absolute melancholy.

I’m Australian so obviously it’s the Thylacine. Plus my understanding of it is that marsupials may be easier to clone using a surrogate species for gestation because they are so tiny when born and can complete their development in an artificial pouch. Then there’s all the other Aussie megafauna, only a few thousand years ago we had some utterly amazing animals roaming this country. Hippo sized wombats, giant kangaroos over 10 feet tall, a goanna bigger than Komodo dragons and a marsupial lion! Now that would be something to see….

Interesting point on Smilodon. It makes sense that we still have a primal fear of carnivores like modern big cats. I often wondered why we depict monsters/demons with horns and or hooves. I'm going to assume that hunters attempting to score a kill amongst a grazer herd must've been assailed by defensive bulls that would either trample or gore them like modern bovids can. The anxiety of trying to get enough food for the tribe and survive must've scarred our collective consciousness with the shapes and armaments of these creatures

My main practical worry with de-extinction is that we are looking for superficial traits or an incomplete set of necessary traits when planning a project to bring back a species. The Wolly Indian elephants with cold resistance may superficially look like Wolly Mammoths but does it have the insides of one? The traits that are only hidden on the inside of the body or worse yet, on the inside of their minds... Parenting, social structure and survival skills are key components to any mammal species (and most other animal species as well) that could be lost when trying to de-extinct a species.

Bringing back animals that went extint relatively recently makes sense, such as the Tasmanian tiger and passenger pigeon. IF they can be successfully reintroduced to their ecosystem. The tech could also be used to save nearly extinct animals like the northern white rhino.

The Tarpits are definitely arguably more interesting than anything in Los Angeles. There is nothing older in the city than what's contained in that exhibit. It's one place you can visit where you'll look at something and it's hard to wrap your brain around how old are those bones -- which is merely Joe Scott standing next to the remains of a long extinct animal, you can ask him his age.

What would adding another keystone species or apex predators do to the existing environment? Wolves being reintroduced to Yellowstone restored balance and is an amazing testimony to this.

That small difference in DNA can be massive. Just look at the barred owl and spotted owl. They can even sometimes hybridize and have fertile offspring. Yet, they are two pretty drastically different animals. I like the concept but wow does it need to be done carefully.

I feel like they've talked about bringing the mammoth back longer than it has been extinct

9:32 👏👏👏👍 Couldn't have said it better myself! We should be focusing on preventing more extinction.

You may have already done a video on 'Pleistocene Park', but a deeper look at why bringing large mastodons back to the steppe tundra, is potentially so important, (Potentially, very , very important.) would have been interesting. Great vid. Thank you.

Bringing back the Ivory-billed woodpecker seems like it should be easier than a dodo. But the Moa, and Haast’s Eagle would be pretty epic too.

An interesting approach is the Quagga Project in South Africa that started in 1987, where an attempt is being made to "bring back" the extinct Qwagga by selectively breeding zebras that have similar traits until they can get a close enough analog, and each generation they get closer and closer to the real thing.

Joe, I think I have seen every video you have ever made, and I think that this side clip/sponsor part/sub plot/whatever is the very best one you have ever made. That was amazing and sooo very well done. Excellent job. 👍😀 (and that says a lot because you have had many good ones, and it also made me make my first comment ever on one of your videos 👍)

Joe, that was one of the best skits you've done and u managed to out due any ad performance, all in the same video!

Your creativity for incorporating your ad sales into your shows is incredibly unique.

I have a fun memory of the La Brea Tarpits in the late 1980s. I was visiting the LA area and driving down Wilshire Blvd. and came across it, and I had to go around a few blocks to make sure I was seeing it correctly, because it's so close to downtown LA! Of course Google Maps and the Internet weren't a thing for travelers back then. I felt like I had found a treasure trove of ancient history and over 35 years later, I remember that visit fondly.

Happy New Year Joe and Zoe!

I think dodos would be a great way to see weather bringing back a mammoth can be good idea, as dodos are a really recent species that died out and lived on a fairly small habitat like Mauritius, dodos would also be a great attempt at looking at the flaws of de extinction technology.

Thanks for another great vid! Hands down, the Tasmanian Tiger. But in doing so, we’d also need foxes and feral cats to be under control so the Tiger can be the top predator again. They’ve only been gone for a blip on the extinction radar, I mean we have them on film so hopefully it’s something they can do, I know there’s a lot of interest here in Oz.

merry christmas joe! i hope you and your wife had a good one

Merry Christmas JOE and please have a Safe New Year❤🎉

i'd be down to watch a video where you talk about the bacterial infections becoming immune to modern antibiotics that you mentioned if you're looking for video ideas!

On a trip around California many years ago, friend and I stopped by the Tar Pits and found them so interesting! However, the lasting memory I have of them is that some small, black bird took it into its mind to attack me, at least three times. The little bugger wouldn't leave me alone! Despite that, the pits and what is found in them (and how the stuff is found) was wonderous. Love me some science!

Happy Holidays Joe and crew🤗 Thank you all for the amazing content! To quote the legend himself "have a a safe and happy new year love ya guys and take care"

I just listen to your videos while i work most of the time because i dont want to miss what you have to offer, but I can't just sit and watch them...... having said that, I was listening to this video while cutting something on my table saw, and that bit you did for your sponsor was the best thing I've "seen" all week! I would love to see what you could do with a full studio and a big production company behind you. Keep it up Joe you do an amazing job with these videos.

Awesome segue into the Incogni ad and although I anticipated the ending it was still funny. The whole predator clone thing was pretty funny. If we do dextinctions, I would like to see them be things we more recently did in than the mammoth, like the dodo or the passenger pigeon. I think the climate has changed too much for something like the mammoth to be brought back.

Well, animals created in labs would have legal protections and the corporation owning it could sue the people killing it and destroying their environment. But they'll probably going to try to charge you for seeing one in the wild too.

You have upped ur thespian game my friend!!! BRAVO!!! NICE JOB!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!🎄❤

Happy New Year Joe!

Seeing that "Predator Joe" skit in the patreon stream was fantastic, seeing it in the actual Video was even better! Keep up the great work Joe and have a great 2024. Happy holidays!!!

Thanks for all the great videos this year Joe! Hope you had a good holiday spent with the family. Can't wait to see what you have in store next!

This kind of program would be great for rhinos (especially the extinct Black Rhino). I would also LOVE to see the Caspian Tiger and Archaeoindris (giant lemur) come back. I don't think they would become invasive, and they would be cool to have back (in an appropriate habitat, of course).

Hey Joe! Merry Christmas and happy new year! Just wanted to say love the way you did the Segway into the commercial! I really enjoyed and appreciate that. If ya gotta do a commercial might as well make it funny or entertaining! Golly good show ol’ chap👍🏻

I just heard a podcast about the Doddo. They actually tasted terrible and weren't hunted for food. They went extinct, most likely from habitat loss.

Merry Christmas ya crafty sod i see what you did with your segway sketch but guess what for once i did not skip past the add when you got on to incogni because you made it so enjoyable to watch so thank you for all the content over the years i have been following for about 4 yrs now and you have really helped me through some real dark times. You probably dont realize just how much this kinda thing helps so thats why im putting it out there you and various other tubers are really important for my mental health and im sure so many others feel the same way so on behalf of everyone i personally wish you joe scott a very merry Christmas or happy holidays whatever you prefer and a happy new Year 🤗🎄

The best! So good. Thank you for your amazing work. Ray, from Vancouver, BC.

Merry Christmas Joe and folks. ❤

Predator Clone is hilarious! It (of course) would be a bit scary if it were real. Using Predator Clone to segue into the Incogni commercial was pretty clever. All Hail Zoe! You freakin crack me up Joe, you really do. I might be simple, but there is a cognitive sympathetic resonance there I am certain. That means you are sick and sad and twisted, just like me. In terms of extinctions, an additional 200 species was added just this year, to the list of 44,000 species in danger of extinction. It was fun while it lasted.

Absolutely the best segue into a sponsor video ever. I'm actually going to look into it now, simply due to your performance effort.

We love you too Joe. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my friend.

Happy holidays Joe. Hope you end 2023 strong and that 2024 brings you, your family, your channel, and your team unprecedented success! Thanks for the knowledge and entertainment!

Thanks for all the fantastic videos Joe! Happy holidays to you and yours.

Merry Christmas Joe! You are a great source of information and laughter! BTW, I love how your butler clone isn't fazed by the psycho clone. 💕 Good girl zoe! ❤

Merry Christmas, and a great video

Merry Christmas Joe

This might be the absolute BEST commercial for Incogni. Predator Clone is hilarious!

This comes hot on the heels of an Extra History video which calls into question a lot of what we have been told about the dodo bird. From the perspective of that video, I think we have even more reason to bring that species back.

Fascinating video! And brilliant transition to the commercial!

This is my favorite episode! Merry Christmas.

Can the common sense humanoid be saved from near extinction? 😂 I hope so! Merry Christmas Joe, thanks & great show 👍☃️

Letting AI decide what parts of the genome to use is such a great idea that it'd be a great setting for the next Terminator movie.

Merry Xmas joe and team🎉🥳🥳🤣🤣

One of my favorite videos yet!!!! Thank you joe.

Maybe being back the Thylacine, maybe it's presence might help protect the ancient forests of Tasmania.

I feel like, if they are relatively recently extinct & they still have a habitat, it'd be worth it. That would put a lot of the American extinct bird species in play- Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet, Ivory Billed Woodpecker, etc.

Joe: You got this, Bro! This is definitely your thing (talent) or i guess one of many. Thank you for informing us in this cool format. I'm a 51 year old man, and i watch these videos with my 12 yo son, and it's a great experience to learn new stuff together; Even though English is our 2nd language (we're from Mexico). Please keep teaching us. We appreciate it. Peace! El Charlie

LOVE the 'Maximillian' statue on the shelf behind you!!! 👌 SUCH a GREAT film!!! 👍👍 😎🇬🇧

I see eagles reasonably often. They are making a comeback. What I don't see is all of the insects. What the heck has been happening to most of the bugs? I can remember times, and it wasn't that long ago, when the air was filled with so many flying insects that I feared breathing them in. Now I go through whole summers where nothing remotely like that happens. And speaking of the obvious, what has been happening to the turkey vultures (some people will probably confuse these with the eagles)? There are still a lot of them around, but in my region, I think the number of these birds is less than 10% of what it was just ten years ago. And right up there with the insects is the bats. What has happened to the bats? Are most people so oblivious that they haven't noticed that the bats have almost disappeared?

There are some plant life I'd like to see come back. I can't think of anything in particular, but I know there is a tree that is the last of its kind.

Thanks for posting

Great content by the way, really well done. 🙏👍👏👏👏

What will happen is rather than addressing the actual issues, people will continue to spin their wheels and end up using this technology to transform humans into bizarre constructs that can survive in the horrible conditions humanity continues to create.

Loved the predator clone skit

Fun video! And what a weird way to cut to commercial! Keep it coming.

Merry Christmas! 🎅 🎄 ❤

Absolutely in favor of this. It would be perfectly appropriate for the Dodo to inherit the Earth after humanity eventually kills itself off.

I like how the CEO of Colossal Bio stated that they want to bring back keystone species in order to strengthen biodiversity. The mammoth, Dodo, and Tasmanian cat are not keystone species.

Predator Clone is my new fav sketch! 🤣🤣Merry Xmas Joe!

You made a cliffhanger into an ad! Well done, and predator clone bit looks like the stuff you have fun doing, you’re great at it btw.

Of course this is a bad idea! A rather obscure and unknown director, Spielberg, was very clear in his criminally underrated documentary on the subject.

I fail to see how re-introducing the Woolly Mammoth will stop permafrost from melting. I do, however, see the potential benefits from researching the technology. As for what animal I would like to see brought back: something herbivorous that ends up being worth all the time, energy, and effort.

I'm legit glad I discovered this channel. Even more so that is someone from my own backyard in the DFW area! Keep up the great work Joe!

Awesome video 👍🏻👍🏻 things to think about and some quality entertainment 🤣😂🤣 Your pup is adorable😻

I think Predator Joe needs to be the new host. He seems personable and I like that.

Did you hear about the scientist who tried to revive the woolly mammoth? He said it was an ice attempt. I thought about bringing back the dodo bird, but I figured it would just be a flightless effort. My friend is working on resurrecting dinosaurs. He's really digging into the past!

That Predator Clone bit was hilarious. Awesome video!

0:11 Seconding after going to LA for the first time (of an age to remember) back in September. Tar pits museum was neat.

It is an interesting concept, and one I've been thinking of a lot lately. Animals in zoos that have never been shown how to act, have the genes from their species. Could be the same with people. Different nationalities have stereotypes, which could be from their family hereditary over generations and generations of genes.

See... the dodo story always gets to me. Because the received wisdom is that the dodo was tasty AF. Nowadays, rumour has it that the tapir is also pretty good eating, however its also endangered. So Im like... ofc I shouldnt eat it, because its endangered. But on the other hand, what if it goes extinct and I never got to taste one, maybe I should chow down while Ive got the chance? Im really conflicted, and I just love tasty things.

Hi Joe I would just like to thank you in 2019 I came down with pancreatic cancer found your Chanel and been watching ever since when I watch you now it takes me back to a bad time that you made bearable Thank you 👍

4:24 Did Joe just Britannica that, so good I love it.

The hallucigenia Sparsa would be a species i would like to see brought back. It’s a fascinating little creature!

Bring back the Dodo birds! I hear they were delicious.

Well done, bravo!

Great Video as always, you should consider using the stillframe at 2:31 as the thumbnail, made me almost spit out my food :')

"Scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." Dr. Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park

Here is one of my concerns , although scientists like to laugh at crazy religious people, they are just as susceptible to short sightedness and magical thinking. I loved the quote you included about best intentions. I've always liked your videos, they are getting better and better

Great focus on the habitat required for the to-be-reintroduced species, its potential impact on habitats as they exist today. I was thinking exactly that they might constitute (re)invasive species when you made your point about temporally invasive species. :D TLDR Do we really know enough to authoritatively say what is a "keystone species" and what is not? A few million years of separation may hide a lot of unknown unknowns, leading to complications and unintended interactions. Re: the Colossus Biosciences quote, specifically about restoring "keystone species". If I were optimistic, I'd assume that the eggheads will do their due diligence and strive for a balanced, objective view of what "keystone" means. However, if their profit model in any way comes to rely on winning over the public's imagination (or even just investors with less rigorous scientific/academic backgrounds) with the sensational, then I strongly suspect all kinds of human cognitive biases are going to creep into the decision-making process on what constitutes a "keystone" species. Note that the PR material released by these companies, mentioned in the video, all focus on PETA-esque high profile, complex animals -- mammals, birds. Not a single mention of reviving extinct protozoa or lichens, or amphibians like the extinct toad Joe mentioned. B/c insects, fungi, germs, worms, reptiles, amphibians, fish, etc aren't evolutionarily as close or relatable to an unsophisticated human audience. So what are these restored sexy mammals going to eat? A caveat: yes, simpler extinct species that supported the extinct target species are potentially easier to substitute with modern-day species that occupy the nearly the same ecological niche. But "nearly" may or may not be sufficient in all necessary cases. Not a hard "no", just a big "what about". e.g. For the proposed modified pseudo-mammoth, what will it eat? Are there enough plants in Siberia compatible with an Asian elephant diet? This goes back to Joe's point about pointlessly restoring an extinct species (or in this case filling a vacant ecological niche with a new hybrid species) that just quickly goes extinct again without ongoing intensive sustainment efforts by human overseers. We can't even feed our own pet dogs and cats the plant matter and other dietary elements their ancestors used to get from eating the offal of their prey. And that's in a relatively controlled environment of profit-driven industrial kibble production and our own homes. What will profit-driven biotech companies feed their hybrid engineered mammoths? Monsanto corn? :P

Great video loved it.

All Hail Zoe! Merry Christmas Joe and family!

Hey Joe. I'm a recent follower of your brilliant and informative channel, your humor. I totally gey and enjoy! I'm way up in Ont 🇨🇦 and well, I just want to say thank you!

Ok Joe, Predator Clone was pretty funny; and it was hilarious the way you segued into the advertising. Nice job.

I think it's important to note that Beth Shapiro is actually working for Colossal now. She's the head of the dodo project. But to answer your question, in addition to the ones Colossal is already trying to bring back, Doedicurus and Megalonyx would at least be cool if not beneficial. And, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see a live Smilodon or Titanis...