Christmas Island was named by William Mynors on Christmas Day 1643. The British’s first attempt to make a settlement on Christmas Island in 1857 failed. It wasn’t until 1886 that John Maclear discovered Flying Fish Cove, that a settlement began to take hold. Maclear took scientific notes about the plants and animals on Christmas Island. Unfortunately, it is believed that Maclear’s ship, Challenger, inadvertently brought invasive black rats to the island with him. These black rats would have devastating effects on Christmas Island’s two native rat species, the bulldog rat and the Maclear’s rat. Both native rat species were last seen in 1903. It is thought that a combination of factors, diseases, competition, and crossbreeding led to the extinction of the bulldog rat and the Maclear’s rat. The Maclear’s rat had no fear of humans and seemed perfectly adapted to feeding on the land-dwelling red crabs. In fact, some scientists believe that Maclear’s rats helped to control the red crab population on the island. Like many island bound species, the Maclear rats were vulnerable to outside species and the diseases they carried. Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. Maclear’s rat might be a candidate. Scientists would potentially use DNA from museum specimens that might be found. In 2022 at the University of Copenhagen Tom Gilbert is leading a team to use the genes from the closely related Norway brown rat, to resurrect Maclear’s rat. The two species share 95% of the same genes. The Australian government has been working on initiatives to protect its native wildlife by restoring lost habitat and eliminating invasive species which have plagued the continent and surrounding island territories. Feral cats, crazy yellow ants, wolf snakes, and giant centipedes are just a few of the non-native species that have led to the extinction of so many animals. Australia has set up a Threatened Species Commissioner and federal environment minister to study these problems and look for solutions to save species currently at risk. Some people are trying to get Christmas Island to be labeled ‘World Heritage Site” to bring more public attention to the problems there. An island biodiversity monitoring program has been set up in Christmas Island as well. If the Maclear’s rat was brought back to life, could it ever be reintroduced to its native homeland in Christmas Island?