Woolly mammoths? Mars?

Public good?: A woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) is installed as part of the American Museum of Natural History’s The Secret World of Elephants exhibition in New York in 2023. — AFP

EARLIER this month, science delivered a really cute experimental result. Researchers created a “colossal woolly mouse”, a fluffy rodent that’s purported to be a step on the way to resurrecting woolly mammoths from prehistory.

But that project – along with Elon Musk’s obsession with establishing a colony on Mars – makes me wonder: Wouldn’t the enthusiasm and resources be better devoted to protecting the animals and planet we already have?