Should We Bring Back the Woolly Mammoth?

What if you could beam yourself back in time to the year 25,000 B.C.? You’d get to explore a world very different from the one we live in now. You might see a saber-toothed cat stalking its prey or a group of animal-skin-clad humans huddled around a fire.

Or, you might come face-to-face with one of the most majestic creatures ever to lumber across the Earth: the woolly mammoth. With their long trunks and sharp, curved tusks, woolly mammoths were the kings of the Ice Age. They stood as tall as a basketball hoop and weighed as much as a school bus.

The last of these furry giants died out about 4,000 years ago. But traces of them can still be found. Mammoth remains, some remarkably well preserved, have been discovered in Siberia, a cold region in Russia.

Now, some scientists are searching for a way to bring these behemoths back. This research has triggered a debate among scientists, animal rights groups, and the public: Is bringing back extinct creatures a good idea?

Bringing back extinct creatures is known as “de-extinction.” For decades, this idea belonged more in the realm of science fiction than of actual science. But today, advances in technology have made de-extinction less a question of “if” than “when.” Currently, efforts are underway to bring back not only the woolly mammoth, but other extinct species as well.

To understand how de-extinction might be possible, you have to start with genes. Genes are the parts of our cells that determine our traits—the color of our hair, the size of our feet, the shape of our noses. All living things have genes. They are what make a dog’s ears pointy and a bird’s feathers blue.

To bring back the mammoth, researchers at Harvard University are studying genes taken from mammoth remains. They are trying to find out which genes gave these creatures the shaggy coats and thick layers of body fat that helped them survive in their icy world.

Once scientists identify these and other genes, their plan is to insert them into cells from elephants, the mammoth’s closest living relatives. Eventually, these cells would be used to create an embryo. The embryo would be placed in the womb of an elephant, and about 22 months later, a baby—part elephant, part mammoth—would be born. 

Today, thousands of creatures are in danger of becoming extinct, from tigers and gorillas to rhinos and elephants. Scientists estimate that dozens of species disappear every day. It might seem obvious that we should find a way to bring back the animals we lose.

Yet de-extinction raises many questions. Which animals should be brought back? Where would they live? What could go wrong? And should humans really be “playing God”—that is, meddling with nature?

For the mammoth, answering those questions is tricky. Mammoth herds probably traveled hundreds of miles a year across the icy grasslands of northern Europe, Asia, and North America. Those habitats no longer exist. And wide-open spaces where mammoths could live are increasingly hard to find.

Then there are concerns about the quality of life these new creatures would have. They would likely live in captivity. Is it fair to bring an animal into the world to be a research subject—a curiosity, basically?

And what about the elephant mothers? They would endure the stress of frequent testing during their pregnancy. Plus, elephants form close bonds with their young. If a baby mammoth died or was taken away, this would be tragic for its mother. (Scientists are also exploring how a mammoth baby could be grown in a lab so elephants don’t have to carry them.)

So is it a good idea to bring back woolly mammoths? It would certainly be awe-inspiring—and an exciting learning opportunity, a chance to bring the distant past into the present.

Still, many wonder why time and money should be spent attempting to bring back a species that disappeared long ago. Wouldn’t it be better to focus on protecting the animals that are endangered today—most of which are in trouble because of human activity?

Maybe scientists should focus on inventing time travel instead. That way, we could see any extinct creature we wanted. Stegosaurus, anyone? 

This article was originally published in the December 2019 / January 2020 issue.