From Ancient DNA to Modern Economics: Why Do We Want the Woolly Mammoth Back?
Author
Parneet Sachdev
In a landmark scientific milestone, April 2025 saw the resurrection of the dire wolf—a species believed extinct for over 12,500 years—by Colossal Biosciences. Using a blend of cloning, gene editing, and ancient DNA, the team brought the species back to life. But beyond the awe of science fiction becoming reality, there’s a deeper question we must ask:
Why are we resurrecting extinct species? Is there an economic reason behind it?
The Cost of Extinction: More Than Just Biodiversity
Humans have been responsible for a massive wave of extinctions over the last 10,000 years. The consequences aren’t just ecological—they’re deeply economic.
Pollinators like bees and butterflies, essential for food crops, are vanishing. This threatens $235–577 billion worth of global crop production annually. In California, almond farmers now pay millions to rent bees.
Overfishing has led to the collapse of species like the Atlantic cod, wiping out 30,000 jobs in Canada and prompting a $2 billion government bailout.
Coral reefs, supporting a quarter of all marine species, are dying. Nearly 500 million people rely on reef ecosystems for food and tourism.
Deforestation in the Amazon, compounded by species loss, could turn it into a carbon source, adding $10–15 trillion to global climate damage costs by 2100.
In total, biodiversity loss could cost the global economy over $5 trillion annually, with nearly $40 trillion—or half the global GDP—at risk.
Resurrecting the Past: A Hopeful Future?
Thanks to breakthroughs in genetics, some extinct species may now be classified as “bodily extinct but genetically alive.” DNA from long-lost creatures like the passenger pigeon and the woolly mammoth is being recovered from fossils and museum specimens, some up to 200,000 years old.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is expanding its famous “Red List” to include “Green Lists,” which focus on species that are being actively recovered or potentially revivable.
Why Bring Them Back?
1. Medical Breakthroughs
Species like the Tasmanian devil suffer from a transmissible cancer that may be eliminated by cloning a cancer-resistant generation.
The Pacific yew tree, once nearly extinct, now provides Taxol—a drug worth $1.6 billion annually.
The gastric-brooding frog might offer cures for ulcers if revived.
2. Ecological Restoration
The woolly mammoth was a keystone species of the Arctic’s grasslands. Its return could reduce permafrost thaw, lower methane emissions, and sequester up to 300 gigatons of carbon.
The aurochs, extinct since 1627, once shaped complex forest-pasture ecosystems in Europe.
3. Economic Revival through Tourism
Revived megafauna like mammoths could attract tourists much like African safaris do today, where wildlife tourism is worth $29 billion annually.
4. Agricultural Security
The Irish Potato Famine showed how overreliance on one crop can devastate an economy. Reviving wild ancestors of modern crops could protect future food supplies.
5. Rediscovering Lost Plants
In Israel’s Judean desert, scientists germinated a 1,000-year-old Commiphora seed, believed to be the healing “tsori” balsam of the Bible.
Ancient date palms like Methuselah and Uriel—grown from 2,000-year-old seeds—may offer genetic traits lost to time.
But At What Cost?
De-extinction isn't cheap—neither in money nor ethics.
The Woolly Mammoth Revival Project has consumed over $15 million, with total costs expected to reach $50 million.
Creating and managing habitats, like Russia’s Pleistocene Park, has cost $2.1 million for just 20 sq. km.
The Frozen Zoo in San Diego spends $400,000 annually maintaining genetic samples.
Cloning success rates remain painfully low—only 1–5% of attempts result in viable births. For example, cloning the first horse required 841 embryo transfers. Meanwhile, traditional conservation—protecting endangered species already alive—receives only $4–5 billion a year globally, far less than the estimated $76–100 billion needed.
This raises an uncomfortable question: Are we prioritizing extinct species over endangered ones?
The Takeaway
Ecosystems provide services worth trillions of dollars—pollination, clean water, carbon storage—that we cannot easily replace. Every extinction forces us to bear that cost. Preserving biodiversity is not just about saving animals—it’s about economic survival.
De-extinction might offer solutions. But whether we’re saving bees or reviving mammoths, the future will judge if our priorities—and our investments—were placed wisely.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are the author’s own.
Parneet Sachdev, IRS
Chairman, Real Estate Regulatory Authority
📩 parneetsachdev@gmail.com
