In April 2025, Elon Musk replied to a tweet about the dire wolf that was brought back from extinction, saying "A miniature pet wooly mammoth would be amazing."

Colossal Biosciences had already been working on exactly that. Using CRISPR gene editing, they created Chip and Dale—mice carrying wooly mammoth DNA traits including thick fur, cold resistance, and distinctive mammoth-like features.

Featured in MrBeast's viral video exploring de-extinction technology where he actually held and petted Dale while Chip was in the cage next to him, they represent the first step toward bringing back the wooly mammoth. Now de-extincted on Solana blockchain as well.