Colossal’s scientists are working to recreate the woolly mammoth genome. If successful, they would use Asian elephants as surrogate mothers. The company plans to monetize some of the technologies it develops in the process.
The last woolly mammoths died out about 4,000 years ago, but if the folks at Colossal Biosciences have their way, a calf will be born by 2028. Scientists at the company aim to rebuild the woolly mammoth genome using samples from unearthed specimens, filling in the gaps with DNA from modern Asian elephants. They then have to coax woolly mammoth embryos into surrogate elephants and find tribal and governmental partners willing to let the company release – or ‘re-wild’ – woolly mammoths onto their land.
The two species share 99.6 percent of their genome, so this is not as big of a stretch as it may sound. Colossal CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm told DailyMail.com: ‘It is a very charismatic creature.’ ‘We should be so lucky that 10,000 years from now, people love us as much as we love mammoths.’
With permafrost melting in the Arctic Circle, the remains of more and more woolly mammoths are being exposed and excavated, including ones whose skin and fur have clung on for all these years. These specimens provide the necessary genetic material.
According to Lamm, the company has raised $225 million in funding from big-name investors, including Thomas Tull, Tim Draper, and Bob Nelson, as well as the environmental impact investment firms At One Ventures and Climate Capital. But the company must meet many milestones before woolly mammoths can roam the tundra. Along the way, Colossal’s investors may reap serious rewards as Lamm and company find profitable uses for the biotech advances they develop to resurrect the woolly mammoth.
Colossal does plan to give its conservation-specific tools away to nonprofits and governments, though, Lamm said. Colossal has claimed that the woolly mammoth’s foraging behaviors would nourish tundra grasslands, in turn capturing tons of atmospheric carbon and preserving melting permafrost. Some of their external scientific collaborators have published studies on it, but other scientists have published research concluding that de-extinction efforts are a net loss in the form of lost scientific resources.
Beyond the woolly mammoth, Colossal is also working on bringing back the dodo bird, as well as the thylacine, which was hunted to extinction in the first half of the 20th century. The thylacine’s demise was based on bad information: Tasmanian farmers believed it was killing their sheep, so the Australian government issued a bounty on the animals.
But the tide has turned in its favor, as scientists and the public better understand the important role apex predators play in preserving the balance of ecosystems. And conversations with local officials, industry groups, and indigenous communities have yielded two potential re-wilding sites, said Lamm.
A recent poll about Colossal’s Tasmanian tiger de-extinction project found that 77 percent of 3,012 respondents answered ‘Yes’ to the question, ‘Should scientists try and bring thylacines back from extinction?’ So far, based on meetings with locals, signs are good, said Lamm. ‘Time will tell if those collaborations hold, but early indicators are very positive.’