De-extinction is defined as the process in which ancient species are resuscitated, or in more realistic terms, it is that humans can now-successfully create a genetic copy of extinct species. This is achievable through modern biotechnologies such as back breeding, cloning, and genetic modification. It’s a scientific fantasy turned reality that has been the craze for paleogenomics researchers all-around the world, and now the ancient Woolly Mammoth is part of the discussion.
With years of work dedicated to advocating for the protection of endangered species through preservation and careful hunting, we’ve progressed further into global advancement to unlock a new age of restoration: the era of de-extinction.
Why Bring Extinct Species Back?
The topic of de-extinction has been regaining traction since 2013, with the release of numerous TedX conferences discussing the subject, such as Hendrik Poinar’s talk, in which he exclaims “Bring back the Woolly Mammoth!” Since then, more attention has been directed towards research and experimentation on the topic. But for what purpose?
The reasoning behind reviving what was lost would be the obvious—scientific curiosity—but it goes beyond wonder. Its aim is to reintroduce these “resurrected” species into their historical habitats and augment biodiversity, such as by reviving keystone species. Discussions of de-extinction rose as early as 1920 with the Heck brothers’ aurochs project. They utilized back-breeding, a method of selective breeding, to create a cattle with genetic makeup identical to that of its wild ancestor. Though unsuccessful, they helped pave scientific advances in similar de-extinction methods.
There’s also hope that climate change could be slowed through de-extinction. Starting from the Arctic Tundra, this ecosystem is known to be covered with permafrost, soil that has been frozen for two years or more. This permafrost retains high quantities of carbon, a vital component to greenhouse gases such as methane, sealed by the ecosystems low temperature. Once the permafrost softens, this carbon is ultimately released into the atmosphere, creating a slow cycle of carbon release. This is, however, countered when mammoth-esque species such as the Woolly Mammoths come marching in, trampling over vegetation and allowing these plants to rejuvenate themselves from new seeds, therefore preventing dead plants from releasing carbon. With this in mind, by creating hybrids of these species who can replicate this behavior again, it is assumed that these hybrids, once reintroduced into their natural environment, can help delay the concerning crisis of global warming.
The idea behind this is that the restored species, when reintroduced into their natural habitat, can cease the release of greenhouse gases into the environment. More specifically, it is believed that the creation of hybrids related to extinct species within the Arctic Tundra ecosystem
De-extinction could also rectify human involvement in species extinction, hitting two targets with one arrow, though this may be seen as human hubris. This effort is exemplified by the efforts to return the Thylacine. Now gone from this Earth, the thylacine, more notoriously as the Tasmanian tiger, diminished when European colonizers over-hunted the species and destructed its habitat, a human misdoing that forever taunts the name. Now, scientists are working to bring the Tasmanian tiger back through CRISPR genome editing to create a close hybrid which can be strategically reproduced back into the tiger.
We’ve Moved Onto The Woolly Mammoth
The revival of the Wooly Mammoth is rooted by all the aforementioned reasons. With an ominous combination of factors leading to its extinction, the Wooly Mammoth was burdened by environmental changes and human hunting, making it a victim of its time from these various aspects.
The Wooly Mammoth, beloved by many as a popular central character in the movie ‘Ice Age’ movie, was in reality a keystone species within grassland ecosystems. There, they were advantageous not only to the land through their instinctual grazing methods but to the people who coexisted amongst them as well; their skin and tusks were used for both material and artistry.
Scientists have shifted focus onto the Woolly Mammoth, which has been extinct for nearly 4,000 years now, with the biggest lead coming from the de-extinction organization Colossal Biosciences.
What Was The Process?
On March 4th, 2025, scientists at Colossal Biosciences published their formal paper on their breakthroughs in attempting to resurrect the woolly mammoth. The most fascinating fact is that this is being done through female lab mice. In order to do this, the procedure called for comparing the genetic composition via sequencing between the woolly mammoth with that of the African elephants, their closest relatives. Upon examination, distinctive genes that reflected the woolly mammoth’s adaptive traits were detected, which scientists then derived through the method of genome editing. The next stage was to modify the embryos of the surrogate lab mice, which they performed successfully, and the lab mice reproduced, giving birth to the very first “woolly mice.”
The results were immense, with the new-born woolly mice having longer, wool coats with the unmistaken golden hue of the Woolly Mammoths. To add to these discoveries, the woolly mice also held excess fat, similar to the Woolly Mammoth, a genetic adaptation which aided them in surviving in cold conditions. With these shared traits having been clear, it confirmed the scientists’ thoughts, that the genomes selected replicated traits specific to the mammoth. This aroused aspirations that one day these results could be directly replicated into the African elephants.
More Information
The continuation of experimentation is essential to enhance scientific knowledge on de-extinction, but costly, with expenses having to be covered from money that could be better spent on efforts of preserving living species instead. Researchers with Nature Ecology & Evolution write, “If full costs of establishment and maintenance for resurrected species populations were publicly funded, there could be substantial sacrifices in extant species conservation. If conservation of resurrected species populations could be fully externally sponsored, there could be benefits to extant threatened species.”
This means that at this point, venturing further into de-extinction research would be recklessly expensive without assistance from outside sources such as private investors, or state agencies. Without such funding, the reality is that cuts are being made from species preservation in order to fund de-extinction efforts instead.
How To Keep Up
With the process of de-extinction ongoing, numerous experiments and research await in the future. To keep up with the progress of de-extinction for all sorts of extinct species in the brighter future, organizations like Colossal Biosciences, the Revive and Restore project, and the Mammoth Museum are excellent organizations to check out for public updates and breakthroughs in this field.
Though animal species are currently the main focus, there is hope that in the distant future, scientists will focus on the earth’s flora species, and help shape a more vivid and resilient ecosystem for earth’s future.
De-extinction is defined as the process in which ancient species are resuscitated, or in more realistic terms, it is that humans can now-successfully create a genetic copy of extinct species. This is achievable through modern biotechnologies such as back breeding, cloning, and genetic modification. It’s a scientific fantasy turned reality that has been the craze for paleogenomics researchers all-around the world, and now the ancient Woolly Mammoth is part of the discussion.