Resurrecting a Woolly Mammoth with Eriona Hysolli of Colossal

Joel (0:02)

How long, Eriona, until I can have a pet woolly mammoth on a leash hanging out at my farm? I have a farm, hanging out at my farm.

Eriona Hysolli (0:10)

We have a six, seven-year timeline for our first calves. And that is also mostly because they're long gestation time, at least elephant gestation time, which can be up to 22 months.

And yeah, they are very, very special creatures, the elephants.

Joel (0:35)

What type of name is that?

Eriona Hysolli (0:36)

I was born in Albania, so it's an Albanian name.

Joel (0:39)

An Albanian name. Well, it's definitely unique and it sounds really cool, so that's exciting.

Eriona Hysolli (0:45)

Thank you so much. Actually, interesting, when my dad named me and I was upset at him for a while because I think it was quite popular as a name in the city where I was born. Then when my family came to the US, it turned out to be quite unique compared to the other names around me. So I was like, finally, I like my name more.

Joel (1:07)

That's amazing. Yeah.

I have two kids and a third on the way. Congratulatory. I know, right? It's awesome and it's horrible.

Eriona Hysolli (1:17)

No, it's not horrible.

Joel (1:19)

It's a mix.

But my son, his name is Lachlan and we named him that after I was talking to a past guest, and his name was Lachlan. Apparently, it was really common where he was from, like a super common name like a John or something, but it's not super common in the United States. So we took the, I'll call it the Eriona principle.

Eriona Hysolli (1:40)

Yeah. I love that.

Yes, you just have to immigrate to a different country for your name to be special enough. So I encourage everyone to do that.

Joel (1:50)

Yeah. Easy enough. When did you immigrate to the United States?

Eriona Hysolli (1:54)

I was actually 16

Joel (1:56)

Okay.

Eriona Hysolli (1:57)

That's quite a bit, quite a long time ago.

Joel (2:01)

How did that happen? Did your parents get a job over here?

Eriona Hysolli (2:04)

Yeah. So my parents applied for a visa, and we were fortunate enough to be admitted, and our application was successful. So we came here, it was actually 2002

And yeah, it was very, very exciting for us. Of course, I mean, it's the classic immigration story, right? You come here for better opportunities for the kids. So that's what they did. And I guess I am thankful to them for working on the Woolly Mammoth project. No, it would have probably not been possible where I was.

Joel (2:41)

That is so cool. And so you think you get a lot of your drive from your parents?

Eriona Hysolli (2:45)

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely the case. A lot of encouragement and support. I think they do tell me to slow down a bit.

But when you're doing ambitious projects, who has time to slow down?

Joel (3:00)

You're resurrecting woolly mammoths. There's no slowing down. I encourage you to speed up. I want to win. How long, Eriona, until I can have a pet woolly mammoth on a leash, hanging out at my farm?

Eriona Hysolli (3:13)

Well, hopefully, they won't be pets. I mean, I think the reason why we're pursuing this is because we want them to be free and wild and not pets. But we have a six, seven-year timeline for our first calves. And that is also mostly because they're long gestation time, at least elephant gestation time, which can be up to 22 months. And yeah, they are very, very special creatures, the elephants. Very interesting and very unique and just very loving as well.

I just am very fortunate to be working on this project. And yeah, our mission is fantastic. Just blessed to be working alongside so many talented individuals to make this happen hopefully very soon.

Joel (4:03)

If you don't have them at the farm or raise them and then put them in the wild, how do you get them into the wild? Do you take them as infants and just throw them in the wild?

Eriona Hysolli (4:14)

That's an excellent question. To be quite honest, I think my day-to-day duties involve science at the molecular level. And so I feel like I would leave that aspect of our project and mission down the line, especially in a few years' time to experts. I am by no means an expert in that area. I would say at the beginning, it makes sense for them to be nurtured by other elephants with partnerships like zoos. But once we have a sustainable population, I think it makes sense to think how to ethically release them in habitats where they would survive and thrive.