Scientists Are Closer Than Ever to Bringing Woolly Mammoths Back

The prehistoric creatures might be joining us soon, thanks to Jurassic Park-like science.

FPLA/Shutterstock
FPLA/Shutterstock

I loved the Jurassic Park films as a child. I would constantly rewind, in awe of the T-Rex stomps, Velociraptor sprints, and general chaos behind the gates of that terrifying theme park. Even as a child, I managed to learn three key lessons from the movies: T-Rexes can’t detect movement, so hide, the raptors are very fast and can jump on high surfaces, so again, hide, and finally: don’t clone pre-historic creatures to live in our modern world.

And, yes, lessons one and two haven’t been very applicable as an adult, but the third lesson may turn out to be necessary. In this advanced scientific time, you can basically do anything with DNA, including clone it. That is exactly what geneticists at Harvard Medical School did with woolly mammoth DNA, with the hopes of one day bringing the long-extinct animal back to life. For the longest time, it seemed like it was just a dream. Until recently, when the team of geneticists received a $15 million investment so that a version of the woolly mammoth may one day walk among us. The money funds their startup, Colossal.

According to CNN, scientists argue the return of the mammoth, albeit not exactly in its original form, could help restore the Arctic’s ecosystem and preserve the endangered Asian elephant. (The elephant and the mammoth are closely related.) With the funding, scientists are hoping to create a hybrid mammoth elephant that would look and behave similarly to its ancient ancestor. 

While I’m all for saving the Asian elephants and protect the Arctic climate, I maintain a healthy skepticism about how well a long-extinct creature would do in our current situation. Though, if it didn’t stomp on us, a woolly mammoth would likely be an instant TikTok star.

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Opheli Garcia Lawler is a staff writer at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @opheligarcia and Instagram @opheligarcia.