Episode 787: Playing God vs Sound Science: De-Extincting Mammoths and Dire Wolves

What this episode covers

Colossal Laboratories & Biosciences has been in the news quite frequently in recent years. If you’ve heard the term “de-extinction” it was likely referring to their work. Colossal’s Chief Animal Officer and Executive Director of the Colossal Foundation Matt James joins us in studio this week. We talk about Colossal’s origin and growth into a multi-billion dollar company. Most importantly though, we discuss their current work focused on de-extincting the wooly mammoth. They’ve already re-created 3 dire wolves, a species that disappeared from North America some 10,000 years ago. So where does the rubber meet the road when trying to bring back species that went extinct thousands of years ago? Are we playing God or are there ecological reasons to consider bringing back some of these species. Matt explains Colossal’s logic and the science behind the de-extinction process. What about in the case of species that went extinct because of human factors like the dodo and the Tazmanian Tiger? We also discuss the obvious question as to where to put mammoths when they do bring them back. Will it be public or private land? How will they be managed? Lots to get into on this week’s show!