section_path: Background
section_name: Background
paragraph_text: Background
  
  Colossal Biosciences, an American biotechnology company, initiated the woolly mouse project as part of their broader woolly mammoth de-extinction program. The company made efforts to restore woolly mammoths through genetic engineering of Asian elephants by introducing mammoth-like traits that would allow the resulting species to survive in cold environments.
  
  The company proposed that herds of genetically modified elephants with mammoth-like traits could help mitigate climate change through their impact on Arctic ecosystems. According to the company's hypothesis, these creatures would graze in ways that promote grassland development in tundra regions and reduce permafrost thaw, thus decrease the release of carbon dioxide from permafrost melt.
  
  The research was announced in March 4, 2025, with the company stating their intention to produce the first genetically modified elephant calf with mammoth characteristics by the end of 2028. The unreviewed preprint covering this project was published in the same day of its announcement.