The dodo tree was first discovered by the Portuguese around 1506 as they were looking for a trade route connecting Portugal to the East Indies. Although the Portuguese stopped by the island of Mauritius on their trade routes for supplies such as fresh water, fruit, and dodo, they did not make the island a permanent colony. The Dutch would later make Mauritius a permanent colony. With the decline of the dodo, the dodo tree population soon declined to being cut down and not being able to plant more seeds effectively without the dodo bird itself being on the island. There are still 13 dodo trees left in existence, but they are all over 300 years old. Growing trees from those seeds has been a struggle for scientists. People did try using wild turkeys to eat, digest, and poop out the seeds with mixed results. 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. The dodo might be a candidate. Scientists would potentially use DNA from the one and only specimen of a dodo containing skin. If the dodo was brought to life, could it be used to save the Tambalacoque tree from extinction on its native homeland in Mauritius?