The woolly mammoth, one of the most iconic creatures of the Ice Age, once roamed the vast, frozen landscapes of Europe, North America, and Siberia. These colossal herbivores, covered in thick fur and equipped with long, curved tusks, thrived in icy climates for thousands of years. However, around 4,000 years ago, due to a combination of climate change and human hunting, they vanished from the Earth—leaving behind only their remains frozen in permafrost.

Source: https://encyclopedia.pub/image/3141

Colossal has been working on this since 2021. Researchers retrieved and sequenced ancient mammoth DNA from preserved skin, bone and hair to learn which genes controlled traits such as coat color and cold tolerance. Then, using tools like CRISPR, they edited those genes into mouse embryos. The result? Mice with a little bit of mammoth magic!

While de-extinction remains a controversial topic, the prospect of witnessing a woolly mammoth walk the Earth again is both thrilling and thought-provoking. Could science rewrite history and resurrect these Ice Age giants? Only time will tell.

For more details, you can view the online entry Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), or the video entitled "Extinct for 4000 Years? Gene Editing Might Resurrect the Woolly Mammoth".