Scientists Want to Bring Back the Woolly Mammoth — And Their Reason Is Fighting Climate Change

The woolly mammoth is an extinct species of elephant that lived about 300,000 to 4,000 years ago. They roamed the planet as one of the biggest mammals of their time, in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. They are a species meant for a cold environment with their thick fur, layers of fat for energy storage and heat, along with their famous large and powerful tusks.

They became extinct because of two main reasons: humans hunting them down and the change of climate in which they thrived. As the planet heated up and the ice age ended, the size of the mammoth’s habitat shrank until it couldn’t sustain them anymore. Now, scientists are planning to bring back these giant animals, and their reason is highly debatable.

A Bold De-Extinction Mission

Colossal Biosciences, led by George Church and backed by major investment, aims to bring back the Woolly Mammoth by creating a hybrid of two animals that are related. To bring back a species, there are essentially a few requirements that need to be met.

First, is their DNA from fossil remains, and the second is a very close relative that could host a baby. In this case, the woolly mammoth will be mixed with an Asian Elephant, as that is one of their closest relative alive today.

One of their first proof of concepts is by genetically editing or engineering shaggy fur and cold-tolerance traits in lab mice, and they have already succeeded with some of the trials. Until now, these “woolly mice” have accepted some mammoth characteristics, and soon they will apply the same processes to an elephant embryo.

In other words, it will not fully resemble the Woolly Mammoth; instead, it will be an animal that is a hybrid of an Asian Elephant with characteristics such as a thick coat, fat insulation, and smaller ears, that will allow it to thrive in Arctic climates.

Read more: Time

Climate-Savvy Giants

Why Scientists Want To Resurrect the Woolly Mammoth

Bringing back these extinct animals in one form or another requires a significant investment and acceptance by the public. That is why they could not just bring any animal species back, even in the name of scientific progression, without a reason that the majority of people will agree on.

The woolly mammoth is an arctic animal, and scientists claim that it will be able to help fight climate change by preserving permafrost, which holds around 1.4 trillion tons of carbon. This will be harmful if released into the atmosphere at once.

So, how could woolly mammoths help? During the Pleistocene epoch, commonly referred to as the “Ice Age”, giant herbivores like woolly mammoths would graze and trample their surroundings. These ecological patterns are believed to potentially slow methane release and stabilize the climate.

By grazing and trampling vegetation, mammoths could help prevent the buildup of snow and organic matter that traps heat underground and accelerate the thawing of permafrost, releasing methane into the atmosphere.

Criticisms and Ethical Concerns

Criticisms and ethical concerns about this project are everywhere for the right reasons, too. We can never be sure that woolly mammoths will be able to live in the modern era, even with our help. They might just disrupt the current ecosystem of animals in the Arctic and cause more harm than good.

Moreover, the Asian elephant, which is necessary for this project, is already an endangered species. Using them to create baby hybrids of woolly mammoths might not be the best solution to the problems scientists are claiming to fight.

Read more: Yale Climate Connections

Beyond the Mammoth

Despite the major ethical concerns, one could not disagree that this would be a groundbreaking advancement of science, especially in the fields of genetic engineering and synthetic biology.

Someday, before a species went extinct, we might be able to help them instead of bringing back the animals that did not survive. Because as a civilization, if we could not even take care of the animals alive today, how could we expect the de-extinction of others would be a positive for the world?

Meet the Scientists Bringing Back the Woolly Mammoth to Fight Climate Change | The Daily Show

Author's Final Thoughts

The revival of giant species that lived thousands of years ago, like the woolly mammoth, to fight climate change is both creative and innovative, especially for science. However, ethical, ecological, and technical challenges are immense, and critics will most likely push for protecting today’s endangered species first, like the Asian elephant, which will be heavily involved in this project.

Still, by pioneering the field of genetic engineering, Colossal, along with other companies trying to bring back extinct species not mentioned above, may unlock breakthroughs in conservation biology that extend far beyond woolly mammoths.

Read more: Scientists Explain: Why Humans Lost Their Fur — And What That Reveals About Human Evolution