For generations who grew up loving Disney pachyderm Dumbo, elephants remain near and dear to their hearts — which is one reason why their dwindling population is a significant cause of worry. Even more pressing is that, according to the leading conservation organization the World Wildlife Fund, “Once common throughout Africa and Asia, elephant populations have experienced significant declines over the last century. The greatest threat to African elephants is poaching for the illegal ivory trade, while Asian elephant populations are most at risk from habitat loss and resulting human-elephant conflict.”
That’s why biotechnology and genetic engineering innovator Colossal Biosciences is employing its considerable talents to preserve this keynote species. “Both African and Asian elephants are facing extinction due to a multitude of anthropogenic pressures including poaching for ivory, habitat fragmentation, and human-elephant conflict,” Matt James, Colossal Biosciences’ head of animal operations, told Discovery.
“Additionally, we are beginning to understand the negative effects that elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) is having on elephant sustainability in the wild.”
Why Are Elephants Important?
Keystone species play an active role in maintaining the biodiversity of their ecosystems. They are absolutely fundamental for the survival of other flora and fauna. Without keystone species, ecosystems can be negatively impacted — or obliterated entirely.
Elephants’ large size and famously strong bodies have earned them a reputation as ecosystem engineers. In dense forests, these behemoths are known to knock over trees, chart paths, and make way for other wildlife. They benefit not only larger creatures, but also small ones like frogs. Their footprints, when filled with water, provide a home to tadpoles.
Why Are Elephants Endangered?
In March 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the African savanna elephant and the Asian elephant as endangered, and the African forest elephant as critically endangered. These classifications may be attributed to two main threats to the survival of elephants: diseases and human-elephant conflict.
The human-elephant conflict is perhaps the largest threat due to the loss of habitat and the illegal ivory trade.
Elephants have lost a large part of their habitats to human encroachment. Encroachment of habitat has often been justified in the name of development, both infrastructural and agricultural. The unchecked expansion of farmlands and other human construction has not only disturbed the ancient migratory routes, but also put elephants in direct confrontation with humans, often when the animal destroys crops. Occasionally this has resulted in human casualties, which lead to retaliatory elephant killings.
The illegal ivory trade, on the other hand, has led to the senseless slaying of elephants for their tusks. Ivory trade was significantly contained soon after the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora initiated a global ban in 1989. However, in 2008, CITES granted China permission to conduct a one-time sale of 62 tons of ivory from stockpiles in Africa. Subsequently, there was a renewed surge in poaching.
Additionally, the elephant population is threatened by diseases, the most notorious of which is elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses. This malady can be fatal to juvenile Asian elephants. In North American zoos, EEHV is the leading cause of death for Asian elephants.
What Is Colossal Biosciences Doing To Conserve the Elephant Population?
Genetic engineering and de-extinction enterprise Colossal Biosciences is garnering buzz by working to revive the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, and the dodo. It believes that its research in de-extinction can help create new technologies that may fast-track global conservation efforts.
And now, they’re turning all that disruptive expertise to saving elephants.
Colossal Biosciences has a four-pronged approach to elephant conservation:
- Preserve the genetic code of all three living elephant species: African Savanna, African Forest, and Asian.
- Record and understand extant elephant population genomes.
- Cure EEHV in all elephant populations.
- Equip modern elephants with traits from their ancestral domain.
Colossal’s partnership with the Vertebrate Genomes Project relates to prongs one and two of its approach to elephant conservation. Colossal and the VGP are working together to create a database for the genetic code of the existing elephant lineage to ensure that humanity can genetically preserve the species for the future. Interestingly, this will be an unrestricted public database, accelerating global research and development.
Colossal’s woolly mammoth de-extinction project addresses prongs three and four and it may be the strongest tool in its arsenal. The company is using CRISPR technology to revive the woolly mammoth. By splicing the genes of the woolly mammoth into an Asian elephant’s DNA, a hybrid version of the Asian elephant that can withstand frigid weather will be created.
With CRISPR, Colossal is also planning to create a vaccine for EEHV, using the technology to remove genes that make elephants vulnerable to EEHV. This will allow their woolly mammoth to be immune to this potentially fatal disease. The benefit of this research expands beyond the scope of conservation as Colossal hopes to use it to find cures for genetic disorders in humans.
Colossal Biosciences co-founder Ben Lamm told Discovery, “Colossal’s commitment to eradicating EEHV’s deadly effect on elephants will also serve to protect our future populations of woolly mammoths. This research enhances our understanding of elephant, and therefore mammoth, immune responses and will allow Colossal to arm both elephants and mammoths with traits to protect them against this deadly disease.”
Help From Other Emerging Technologies
Animal conservation organizations have started to deploy drones to monitor animals. Coupled with the breakthrough advances in artificial intelligence, drones can form the front line of defense in preventing poaching.
Researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts have already started to use AI-enabled drones to track elephants’ movements in East Africa. As most elephants move through the night, the AI algorithm has been trained to spot the creatures through thermal imaging.
Researchers can now collect data and monitor behavior without the use of invasive collars. The Tufts team also intends to train the AI to identify individual elephants based on unique characteristics. It’s hoped that the presence of drones in the area will also act as a deterrent for poachers.
Looking to the Future
“In leading the revolution to bring back extinct species, Colossal will restore and preserve these unique lifeforms from our planet (and someday maybe other planets). I am incredibly excited to be collaborating with their scientists, ethicists, engineers, geneticists, and visionary teams,” said Chris Mason, Ph.D., who serves on the Colossal scientific advisory board and is a professor of genomics, physiology, and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.
Mason is one of the many experienced researchers advising Colossal. Another member that will prove crucial in the fight against EEHV is Virginia Riddle Pearson, an elephant scientist and academic, whose latest research focuses on EEHV.
“When I look into the eye of an elephant, I see another self, not unlike my own,” said Pearson. “I have spent over half a century trying to save elephants from extinction.”
Now, in tandem with Colossal Biosciences, Pearson’s pachyderm mission can come to fruition.
