Scientists in companies such as Colossal Biosciences are employing genetic modification to bring back extinct animals, such as the woolly mammoth. They claim that putting mammoth-style elephants into the Arctic would reverse climate change by enabling grassland to regrow and prevent permafrost melting. With our world in the grip of a climate emergency, however, is this where we should be placing our efforts?
Instead of bringing back ancient species, we should be focusing on preserving the ecosystems and animals that we do have. The Amazon rainforest, also known as the “lungs of the Earth,” is being cut down quickly by deforestation, agriculture, and illegal logging. The loss isn’t just a local tragedy, it affects the world at large by speeding up climate change and driving thousands of species to extinction. Similarly, the sea is under threat from rising temperatures, acidification, and overfishing. Coral reefs, which contain a quarter of all marine species, are in decline, and entire food chains are being disrupted.
De-extinction also raises ethical and practical concerns. The environments that these animals lived in no longer exist in the same form, so their reintroduction is dubious at best. Second, cloning and genetic engineering for conservation are costly, tending to take money away from more direct measures such as habitat restoration and anti-poaching campaigns. Again, I am not opposed to cloning or gene-editing animals for domestic companionship (if people want a glowing cat, well, that’s their prerogative) but applying these technologies to restore species that went extinct thousands of years ago strikes me as more a science-fiction circus act than an actual conservation measure.
If we are serious about fighting extinction, we ought to be conserving forests and oceans, saving threatened species now—not pinning our hopes on the fantasy of reversing climate change with de-extinction. Real conservation is about doing all we can to preserve what’s here before it’s lost.
I have no affiliation with the linked entities.
The Rosie Tiger 