• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Scientists are reincarnating the woolly mammoth and it's set to return in just four years

Home> News

Published 21:10 3 Mar 2023 GMT

Scientists are reincarnating the woolly mammoth and it's set to return in just four years

It's going to be used to fight climate change.

Emma Guinness

Emma Guinness

Ice Age fans rejoice - it looks like woolly mammoths may no longer just belong to the history books and could well be real animals again in our lifetimes.

This is all thanks to the efforts of scientists who are in the process of reincarnating the ice age beast with a plan to bring it back in as little as four years.

News of the mammoth's return was broken by the biotech company Colossal, who are working on its reincarnation of sorts - having begun the project back in 2021.

The woolly mammoth could make a return by 2027.
Alamy / Richard Cummins

Advert

Last year, the company recently got another big boost in the form of $60 million in funding for 'Series A', which will help them continue the gene-editing work required to bring the animal back to life.

The firm said that they're planning to reintroduce the woolly mammoth to the same ecosystem it used to live in.

Apparently, this could help the Earth today as it fights climate change, according a recent Medium post.

This is because the mammoth has huge migration patterns that will help improve the Arctic's ecosystem.

Advert

The original plan was to reintroduce the animal into Siberia, but this was rethought in light of the world's current situation.

The animal will be used to fight climate change.
Alamy / Dominique Braud/Dembinsky Photo Associates/Alamy

According to Colossal, the woolly mammoth's DNA is a 99.6 per cent match with the Asian elephant, which is why they believe they can bring it back.

"In the minds of many, this creature is gone forever," the company said.

Advert

"But not in the minds of our scientists, nor the labs of our company. We’re already in the process of the de-extinction of the Woolly Mammoth. Our teams have collected viable DNA samples and are editing the genes that will allow this wonderful megafauna to once again thunder through the Arctic."

The animal will be brought to life through gene editing, which will be used to create a woolly mammoth embryo.

The animal is a 99.6 percent match with the Asian elephant.
Alamy / Ian G Dagnall

This embryo will then be implanted in an African elephant that will act as a surrogate.

Advert

However, the company stated that the new animal may not be an exact biological match for the one it is replacing - but rather a hybrid.

"Colossal's landmark de-extinction project will be the resurrection of the Woolly Mammoth - or more specifically a cold-resistant elephant with all of the core biological traits of the Woolly Mammoth," they explained.

"It will walk like a Woolly Mammoth, look like one, sound like one, but most importantly it will be able to inhabit the same ecosystem previously abandoned by the Mammoth’s extinction."

Featured Image Credit: Anna Inns / Alamy Stock Photo/The Natural History Museum / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Animals, Science

Emma Guinness
Emma Guinness

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
4 hours ago
5 hours ago
  • 2 hours ago

    Hulk Hogan’s daughter Brooke reveals shocking reason she didn’t attend dad’s tributes

    Brooke Oleksy shut down previous reports that she and her late father were on bad terms

    Celebrity
  • 2 hours ago

    Expert reveals the 3 common names you should never give your baby for surprising reason

    All three are strong names that are popular today, but there's a reason why this expert doesn't think you should name your child them

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    James Gunn responds to Trisha Paytas naming baby ‘Aquaman’ following bizarre Ozzy Osbourne conspiracy

    DC Studios' co-CEO has reacted to the internet celeb having named her baby Aquaman - something she revealed on the day Ozzy Osbourne died

    Celebrity
  • 5 hours ago

    Fans spot Kelly Osbourne's 'subtle' tribute to dad Ozzy as she pays her respects during his procession

    The Osbourne family and the rest of the world are grieving the loss of a rock legend

    Celebrity
  • 'Humanzee' was grown in a lab before scientists euthanized it after realizing the consequences
  • Scientists reveal the only animal likely to survive the end of the world
  • People are just finding out how Bluetooth got its strange name and it's leaving them stunned
  • Scientists discover the personality traits in men that are linked to lasting longer in bed