Could We? Should We?

I want to discuss the woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius. The mummified remains of calves in the Siberian permafrost have given us a window, from which we can gaze into the world of the Pleistocene.

In 2014, a 28,000 year old mammoth was discovered in Siberia. This mummy was preserved to a high degree with blood, organs, tissues even the animal's last meal was still present. With this discovery and others like it, it has been possible to sequence the genome of a woolly mammoth. But should we clone this extinct beast?

Many people that I talk to simply say 'it would be good to see a live one' and that 'it would be helpful to study'. These are not compelling arguments to bring this animal to life. Yes seeing it would be spectacular, these were magnificent creatures, but they went extinct for a reason, they could not cope in the rapidly changing world. To study them would also be interesting, to look at the way they interact with the world and each other, to give us a true insight into the way they lived, but this would mean having to constantly harrass the mammoth.

A painting of Woolly Mammoths migrating through France near the RIver Somme.
Mammoths would have migrated vast distances with a changing climate in search of food, something
that would be impossible today. Painting by Charles R. Knight.

To even bring this animal to life a surrogate is required. The closest relative is the Indian Elephant. It is unknown what being a surrogate to a prehistoric animal would do to a modern elephant, not to mention the stress. The procedure may not be successful the first time so a number of elephants would have to be put through the procedure to get a result. Ethically we cannot stand for that.

Ecologically the mammoth would not fit in. Since the extinction of the mammoths 10,000 years ago, the world has changed greatly. We no longer have the correct sedges and grasses that the mammoths fed on. The mammoths lived in a habitat called the Mammoth Steppe which stretched right across Europe and into Asia, this has long disappeared, there is not the massive fluctations between glacial and interglacial environments in the present day. Also mammoths migrated great distances during the Pleistocene, from Britain to the South of France, this would be impossible now as the climate is warmer and there is no land bridge between Britain and France anymore.

We have to take humans into consideration here. We are a species that kill for sport and for trophies, unnecessary killings for no gain. Could we trust the minority that hunt animals like elephants, rhinos and lions to leave the mammoths in peace? At the start of 2016 we pushed the Northern White Rhino to extinction, a whole species has disappeared because of us. The Rhino isn't alone on the list, we've been responsible for numerous extinctions due to hunting, destruction of habitats and pollution. Even if the mammoth survived the human race it wouldn't be long until they are locked away in zoos for our entertainment rather than being allowed to roam the wild. The atmosphere is polluted a great deal more than in the Pleistocene, small environmental changes are partly responsible for the extinction of the mammoth so I don't believe a resurrected one will survive for very long with the environment in the state that it is in today.

Dr Victoria Herridge, who performed an autopsy on the young mammoth in 2014, wrote in The Guardian saying that it 'would be ethically flawed' and that she is yet to hear a convincing argument that supports the cloning of the mammoth.

Personally, we should stop here, we know we have the capacity to do it, we don't need to prove we can do it.

What are your opinions on this matter? Would a mammoth herd fit into our world? Let me know in the comments.