The long-vanished woolly mammoth will return from extinction by 2027, says Colossal, the biotech company actively working to reincarnate the ancient beast.
Last year, the Dallas-based firm secured an additional $60 million in funding to continue the mammoth gene-editing job it began in 2021. If successful, Colossal will not only bring back an extinct species, but also will reintroduce the woolly mammoth to the same ecosystem it once lived in in an effort to combat climate change, according to a recent publication by Medium.
Colossal calls the vast migration patterns of the woolly mammoth an active part of preserving the health of the Arctic, so bringing the animal back to life can have a beneficial impact on the health of the global ecosystem. While Colossal originally hoped to reintroduce the woolly mammoth to Siberia, the company may explore other options based on the world’s current political framework.
The woolly mammoth’s DNA is a 99.6 percent match to that of the Asian elephant, leading Colossal to believe it’s on its way to 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 in the laboratories of our company. We are already in the de-extinction process of the Woolly Mammoth. Our teams have collected viable DNA samples and are editing the genes that will allow this wonderful megafauna to traverse the Arctic again.”
Through gene editing, Colossal scientists will eventually create a woolly mammoth embryo. They will place the embryo in an African elephant to take advantage of its size and allow it to give birth to the new woolly mammoth.
The ultimate goal is to repopulate parts of the Arctic with the new woolly mammoth and strengthen local plant life with the beast’s migration patterns and eating habits.
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