WHILE elephants are famed for never forgetting they may still get a slight shock when they see their ancient fuzzy friends, the mammoths, pounding the earth again.

And this reality is now one step closer thanks to a ‘de-extinction programme’  to bring the six tonne beasts back to Blighty and beyond.

Colossal, a biotech company dedicated to reincarnating the woolly mammoth, plans to bring the long-extinct creature back to life by 2027. The Dallas-based firm received an additional £50million in funding last year to continue its gene-editing work on the mammoth, which it calls a ‘cold-resistant elephant’. If successful, Colossal hopes to reintroduce the woolly mammoth to its original ecosystem to combat climate change.

By reviving the woolly mammoth, Colossal aims to contribute to the preservation of the Arctic’s health, given the animal’s historical migration patterns. The reintroduction of this extinct species could have a positive impact on the overall health of the global ecosystem, as claimed by the company. Initially, Colossal intended to reintroduce the mammoth to Siberia, but due to the current political situation, the company may consider alternative options.

Woolly mammoths inhabited the cold tundra regions of Europe, Asia, and North America from around 300,000 years, until approximately just 3,700 years ago. The final group of woolly mammoths known to us managed to survive until approximately 1650 B.C., which is more than a one thousand years after the construction of the Pyramids at Giza.

Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should?

The possibility of de-extinction presents an opportunity for humans to correct past mistakes that caused harm to other species and to increase the diversity of species.

However, several extinct species disappeared due to habitat loss, and others lived in environments that have drastically changed since their extinction.

Bringing back extinct species in the short term would render them endangered, necessitating conservation efforts that are frequently underfunded or insufficient. Furthermore, de-extinction could unintentionally endorse extinction and encourage activities that endanger biodiversity by providing a way to revive extinct species later.

Theoretically though bringing back the woolly mammoth could actually help reduce climate change. If the Siberian permafrost melts, it will release deadly greenhouse gases. Mammoths could help restore the ecosystem to how it used to by fertilising grasses with their faeces and trampling bushes – reverting overshrubbed forests back into natural arctic grassland.

So as always there are relatively good answers for and against bringing back extinct species.

But whatever happens perhaps someone should send Colossal a copy of Jurassic Park before they get another £50million…