Should we bring back wooly mammoths?
This question was erected from the NPR article to which various professionals expressed their concern or satisfaction with the project, expected to be funded with a 15 million dollar research project led by George Church, a Harvard University genetics professor known for his exceptional genome work.[1] The consensus of this article seems apprehensive while bringing up several different points on why this won’t be ethical and that we should focus our problems on endangered species and animals who are alive and need help.
A New York Times article mentions that “Russian ecologists have imported bison and other living species to a preserve in Siberia… in hopes of turning the tundra back into a grassland.”[2] This seems like a viable, more suitable option than the former. If possible and healthy for the animals, why not allow them the space of the tundra with the freedom to roam sans the fear of extinction. The argument claims that Mammoths might have a greater chance of resurrecting such a grassland again, but not without costs. I’d have to agree with the consensus, stating that this may do more harm than good. For one, this could mess up the symbiotic relationship our ecosystem has currently maintained for the last several hundred years. One cannot simply reintroduce an animal into an environment it has not inhabited in decades. It is also not ethically correct to create an animal to try and reverse the harm we humans have caused. Who says these creatures will effectively do their ‘job’ once recreated? As Beth Shapiro noted in the NPR article, “it’s never going to be possible to create a species that is 100% identical.” Still, instead, we can use the technology to help save elephants. Bringing back this species won’t magically regenerate the permafrost, thus wholly reversing climate change forever. We must actively continue to find ways to reverse climate change ethically and without disruption to the ecosystem.
As much as I’d love to live out my childhood dream of interacting with the animals from “Ice Age”, I do not think it is ethical to reproduce this mammal on the grounds that it “could possibly help reverse” climate change. I also do not find it ethical to do to any animal unless it is proven to be a thriving environment for any mammal, extinct or not.
[1] Neuman, “Scientists Say They Could Bring Back Woolly Mammoths. But Maybe They Shouldn’t.”
[2] Engle, “Should We Bring Back Animals From Extinction?”