Mammoths. Illustration: Warpaint / Shutterstock
Biotech company Colossal aims to “reincarnate” the extinct wooly mammoth in 2027 by introducing genetic information from mammoth remains to the biological makeup of its closest living relative, the Asian elephant. But opposition has resulted in one big change to the plan: it probably won’t be reintroduced in Russia. A recent $60m investment gives it the resources to proceed.
Colossal calls the woolly mammoth’s vast migration patterns an active part of preserving the health of the Arctic, and so bringing the animal back to life can have a beneficial impact on the health of the world’s ecosystem. While Colossal originally hoped to reintroduce the woolly mammoth into Siberia, the company may explore other options based on the current political framework of the world. The woolly mammoth’s DNA is a 99.6 percent match of the Asian elephant, which leads Colossal to believe it’s well on its way toward achieving its goal. “In the minds of many, this creature is gone forever,” the company says. “But not in the minds of our scientists, nor the labs of our company. We’re already in the process of the de-extinction of the Woolly Mammoth. Our teams have collected viable DNA samples and are editing the genes that will allow this wonderful megafauna to once again thunder through the Arctic.”
Always nice to see BD Wong getting work!
Assuming the biology works out, the animal husbandry involved in raising a herd of novelty beasts, to form a stable ecological niche, is a colossal challenge obscured by the predecing controversy over genetics and ethics.
P.S. one might already eat meatballs cultivated from mammoth remains.
