The Round Island burrowing boa used to live on the island of Mauritius, the very same island the dodo went extinct. With the arrival of the Dutch colonies and invasive species they brought, snakes, rats, monkeys, and goats, the Round Island burrowing boa soon vanished from Mauritius. Its range was reduced to a few small islands northeast of Mauritius, the last remaining stronghold being Round Island. The Round Island burrowing boa was protected from invasive species until 1810 when rabbits were brought & 1846 when goats were introduced to Round Island. The people brought these animals to the island as a food source, but they did much damage to the environment. The goats and rabbits overgrazed the plants on the ground causing destructive soil erosion. The Round Island burrowing boa was at risk from habitat loss while the other Round Island snake species, the Round Island keel-scaled boa was able to hide in trees to survive. The other threat to both boa species was the black rats accidentally brought to Round Island. The rats ate the boas' eggs as well as the geckos and skinks that both boa species used for food. Research in the 1950's showed the wildlife of Round Island was stable but the cyclones (hurricanes) of 1960 & 1962 destroyed many trees which furthered the erosion problem. The Round Island keel-scaled boa has managed to avoid extinction by the intervention of zoos and the removal of goats and rabbits from Round Island. The skink and gecko population has improved and nesting birds have come back to Round Island. All of this was too little, too late for the Round Island boa. By 1975, no more boas could be found, marking their extinction. 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 Round Island burrowing boa might be a candidate for de-extinction. Scientists would potentially use DNA from the few specimens known to exist, although the exact number and condition of specimens is unknown. Round Island has been one of the longest running island restoration projects in the world. In 1979 all goats were removed from the island. The rabbit population was wiped out in 1986. This has led to many endangered species to be able to be reintroduced onto Round Island. If these burrowing boas did return to Round Island would it be able to survive there now that the soil has been restored and its food sources have been brought back. We may never know.