Remember the classic Jurassic Park movies? Now with CRISPR-Cas9, editing everything from corn to canines, the line between science fiction and reality has never been thinner.
Colossal Biosciences is the world’s first de-extinction company, pouring $435 million into salvaging endangered species–best known, ironically, for cloning Tom Brady’s dog, according to People Magazine. It is this, the grave accomplishment of cloning Brady’s dog, that will help Colossal presumably ‘heal the world.’
Created in 2021, celebrities like Paris Hilton and Tiger Woods have invested their billions into the company. The idea came out of a childhood dream–reincarnating the Woolly Mammoth. Co-founder George Church has loved genomic sequencing since childhood–fascinated by tales of dinosaurs from the Jurassic Park series. Yet, as a co-founder, he receives no stake in the company. He is dedicated to forwarding scientific research, and not the company. Colossal employs over 95 of the top scientists in the world, or so it self-acclaims. These scientists came from prestigious universities all over the world. However, together they have one goal–‘rewilding’ Earth.
‘Rewilding’ is the process of restoring land to its uncultivated state. The company points to early efforts, such as Yellowstone National Park. In 1926, Yellowstone park rangers shot the last wolf, a part of their predator-eliminating protocol. In the winter of 1993, 14 wolves were captured from Canada and planted in Yellowstone. There was a need for wolves–the food chain was imbalanced, as wolves are a keystone species. Immediately after their release, two wolves crossed the border into Montana. Wolf No. 10 led pregnant Wolf No. 9 north, where he was illegally shot by a poacher. Wolf No. 10 was used as an object, receiving a name for data purposes only. No. 9 was rescued, along with her eight pups. Today, their bloodline can be traced to the wolves in Yellowstone according to Earthjustice. This case was a success–but involved a diverse set of stakeholders. It was a collaboration between both the public and private sectors, working to restore Yellowstone.
Colossal differs from this success. The company works mainly with private organizations, diverting millions of funds into private ventures. In 2025, North Dakota’s development funds contributed 3 million towards the project, according to Life Science History. The public funding creates private ties between government positions and the company. Tom Brady’s most recent investment brought him Junie, a genetic clone of his deceased Lua. While Junie may look and act like Brady’s favorite dog, the two are not the same. Lua was bred naturally, while Junie grew up in a cold lab surrounded by strange people in lab coats. Junie’s personality has been shaped from the start, and does not even resemble Lua. To some scientists, Colossal’s mission sounds more like a very expensive midlife crisis. Brady announced his new pup through People Magazine, pumping Colossal’s stock further.
Colossal describes their purpose as “accepting humanity’s duty to restore Earth,” blaming society’s ignorance as causing Earth’s demise. Yet, they are not too selfless themselves. So far, its biggest achievement is cloning a quarterback’s pitbull. For $50,000. Further, their extensive use of Artificial Intelligence accelerates the very thing they claim to be fighting–extinction. Artificial Intelligence accelerates global warming, its data centers guzzle more energy and water than entire cities–using extensive energy and water to cool their reactors. These resources are not easily accessible around the globe, and are given to mindless machines before real humans. Colossal turns a blind eye to the injustices present in our world. The company prefers to focus on subjects of matter–money.
Flagged all over their website, is the statistic that 50% of species could become extinct by 2050. Key word–could. Of course, with unpredictable natural disasters, shrinking environments, and human conflict, just about anything can go extinct in nearly 25 years. With heavy use of AI, these predictions will continue to skyrocket. Colossal frames itself as a solution to extinction, yet the environment and moral costs are completely ignored by the multi-billion dollar corporation.
According to the American Anti-Vivisection Society, 96% of cloned animals do not survive past six months. This is not a secret–but a fact the founders of Colossal are fully aware of, yet choose to ignore. The business strategy is cloning animals to fulfill long lives and memories of fun. But, when these animals are cloned, they are kept for scientific research. These animals are not objects to toy with, but real beings with emotions just like us. If the animals are not held in captivity for life, they still do not experience any freedoms. In the case of Paris Hilton and Tom Brady, they are sold to an unknown stranger that claims they are your best friend. Creepy, right?
The animals Colossal intends to revive are incapable of surviving in Earth’s environments. There is a reason some of these animals went extinct–loss of prey, habitat destruction, and disease. However, Colossal continues to argue that Woolly Mammoths may be able to survive in the wild, and could even help to minimize greenhouse gas’s effect. Rather than forging new policies on global warming, Colossal looks to enslave animals to fix our mistakes.
Ancestral mammoths once roamed warm forests before later evolving into the tundra-dwelling Woolly Mammoth. Scientists believe their diet closely resembled that of the modern Asian elephant. Wooly Mammoths evolved later, as ice thawed. In 2007, a groundbreaking discovery was made. Lyuba was a baby Woolly Mammoth, preserved in the frozen tundra of Siberia. Scientists found traces of adult feces, suggesting baby mammoths ate their mother’s waste in order to strengthen their digestive system with correct bacteria. Yum. However, limiting humans’ waste is not what drew founder George Church to the project.
George Church wants to bring back mammoths and set them loose in Antarctica, restoring it to its previous state. This would help combat greenhouse gas emissions and rapidly evolve animals. The intent of Colossal is more than just reincarnation, but embedding genes into modern animals. George Church wants to insert ancestral genes into modern elephants, allowing them to sustain extreme temperatures. This does not solve the issue at hand, but rather, speeds up climate change. George Church would just be creating a new species, so in the future, there will be some resemblance of elephants on earth–just in Antarctica. The company does not address the core issue, but simply offers a fallback solution allowing humanity to ignore accountability for their actions.
Colossal is Canva’s finest user, using fonts that mimic coding to distract from the immorality of it all. Their website consists of random illustrations strung together by a common theme–filters. With AI-images embedded in every scroll through the website, it is clear brand image trumps ethics. Why else would they post videos of their cloned animals playing with pumpkins? Apparently, salvation now comes in pixelated form.
It seems Colossal has forgotten what drives humanity–our morality (or lack thereof). Perhaps we do not need to resurrect mammoths to heal the planet. Maybe we just need to remember what makes us human–before we go extinct ourselves.
Works Cited:
Colossal. “Reawakening the Lost Wilds of Earth.” Colossal.com, 2025, colossal.com/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
“Double the Cruelty: Animal Cloning Casualties.” Aavs.org, American Anti-Vivisection Society, 25 Apr. 2026, aavs.org/assets/uploads/2016/01/aavs_av-magazine_2007-spring_cloning.pdf. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
https://www.facebook.com/peoplemag. “Tom Brady Reveals His Dog Junie Was Cloned from Beloved Pet Lua, Who Died in 2023.” People.com, 2023, people.com/tom-brady-cloned-his-dog-lua-11842661. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
“Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Ph.D. – Colossal.” Colossal, 20 Jan. 2026, colossal.com/mammoth/i. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
“Infographic: Wolves Keep Yellowstone in the Balance.” Earthjustice, 2 Feb. 2015, earthjustice.org/feature/infographic-wolves-keep-yellowstone-in-the-balance. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
Nair, Prashant. “Profile of George M. Church.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 109, no. 30, 2 Apr. 2012, pp. 11893–11895, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1204148109.
“North Dakota Development Fund Invested $3 Million in Colossal Biosciences and Mammoth De-Extinction – LifeScienceHistory.com.” LifeScienceHistory.com, Sept. 2023, lifesciencehistory.com/north-dakota-development-fund-invested-3-million-in-colossal-biosciences-and-mammoth-de-extinction/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
“The Real Paleo Diet: What Woolly Mammoths Ate | CBC News.” CBC, 25 Apr. 2026, www.cbc.ca/news/science/woolly-mammoth-diet-mystery-solved-by-dna-analysis-1.2524015. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
Thomas, Carly. “Meet the Billionaire Working to Bring Extinct Animals back to Life.” The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Oct. 2025, www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/ben-lamm-de-extinction-science-dire-wolf-colossal-interview-1236412831/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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