Woolly Mammoth 2.0: Because What the World Really Needs Is a Hairy Elephant With an Identity Crisis

I've reported before on the "de-extinction" efforts of Colossal Bioscience. This company, while yes, is doing some interesting work in genetic engineering, is prone to making claims that aren't really accurate. They have made woolly mice, and they have made dire wolves that aren't dire wolves. They are working on dodoes, although for those allegedly dimwitted birds, they need look no further than Congress.

Now, Colossal Bioscience claims to have resurrected a woolly mammoth. There's just one catch: They didn't.

Colossal Biosciences, the world’s leading de-extinction company, proudly announces the successful culmination of its flagship mission: the resurrection of the woolly mammoth. In a landmark achievement for science, conservation, and the planet, Colossal’s team has brought the first mammoth in over 4,000 years to life a moment long dreamed of by scientists and storytellers alike.
The new calf, affectionately named Manny serves as a living testament to what happens when human ingenuity meets unwavering purpose. The name honors both the iconic cinematic figure beloved by generations and the spirit of resilience that defines this monumental scientific milestone.

Here's the thing: This isn't a mammoth. It appears to be an Indian elephant calf, admittedly the closest living relative to mammoths alive today. It has been genetically modified to give it a coat of russet hair, which woolly mammoths had. But it's not a mammoth. It will never be a mammoth. And as accomplished as Colossal is at tweaking genes, what they really ought to work on is tweaking their expectations.

Using state-of-the-art CRISPR gene editing, the company engineered a cold-adapted elephant with the genetic traits, appearance, and ecological role of the woolly mammoth. This “cold-resistant elephant” walks, looks, and behaves like its ancient ancestor and is capable of thriving in the Arctic ecosystems where mammoths once roamed.

First of all, it's a calf. We have no idea what it will grow into. Second, this animal has no ecological role. The habitats where real woolly mammoths lived are gone. And it's the height of unscientific sophistry to claim that it "behaves like its ancient ancestor" (Woolly mammoths were not ancestors of the modern Indian elephants; they are, at best, cousins) because we don't know how woolly mammoths behaved. As for thriving in Arctic ecosystems, it can't.

Why? Because elephants and their extinct relatives, including mammoths, are intelligent creatures with complex social behaviors and long childhoods, during which their mothers and their herds teach them, in effect, how to be elephants. There's no adult mammoth around to teach Manny how to be a mammoth. There will never be a population of these creatures. It's not even a sure thing that Manny is fertile.

That makes statements like this all the more irresponsible:

Colossal’s work goes far beyond genome editing. The woolly mammoth project was designed with a broader conservation mission in mind: to reinvigorate fragile ecosystems, support climate resilience, and inspire new solutions for biodiversity loss. Mammoths played a vital role in shaping grassland ecosystems and, by extension, the climate systems tied to permafrost and carbon storage.

Horse squeeze.

Company Touts 'Major Breakthrough" Toward De-Extincting Dodo. It's Not.

Look, some amazing things are possible with CRISPR technology and genetic engineering. In time, many debilitating and life-threatening genetic disorders may be able to be corrected. But there are also many opportunities for some truly horrifying things to happen, and for some experiments like this one, which is a curiosity at best, and for which Colossal Bioscience's claims are pure buncombe. They claimed to have resurrected dire wolves. They didn't. They are now claiming to have resurrected a mammoth. They haven't. The work, yes, from a biology standpoint, is interesting. The claims about that work, from a biology standpoint, are poppycock.

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