section_path: Current candidate species for de-extinction/Ivory-billed woodpecker
section_name: Ivory-billed woodpecker
paragraph_text: Ivory-billed woodpecker
  
  The ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) is the largest woodpecker native to the United States, with an endemic subspecies in Cuba. The species numbers have declined since the late 1800s due to logging and hunting. Similarly to the northern white rhinoceros, the ivory-billed woodpecker may not be completely extinct, but rather functionally extinct, though the evidence suggests that the species is 'very likely extinct'. In October 2024, Colossal Biosciences announced their non-profit Colossal Foundation, a foundation dedicated to conservation of extant species with their first projects being the Sumatran rhinoceros, vaquita, red wolf, pink pigeon, northern quoll, and ivory-billed woodpecker. Colossal plans to revive or rediscover the species through genome editing of its closest living relatives, such as the pileated woodpecker and using drones and AI to identify any potential remaining individuals in the wild.