Our Species

With Disruptive Conservation, We Can Save Animals & Their Ecosystems

With Disruptive Conservation, We Can Save Animals & Their Ecosystems

For the first time ever, humanity possesses the means to rectify our past missteps and heal nature on a massive scale. By building on the knowledge and successes of the conservationists that came before us, and utilizing breakthroughs in science and technology, we have an opportunity to turn the tide on extinction and secure a vibrant future for life on Earth.

At Colossal, nothing is more important than supporting species, balance and biodiversity in our planet’s ecosystems. That’s why our conservation efforts are ambitious and intentionally engineered to drive the development of technologies for the benefit of the future.

species Lab
& field notes

African Forest Elephants

Loxodonta cyclotis

  • Est. Current Population: 95,000
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Proboscidea
  • Family: Elephantidae
  • Genus: Loxodonta
  • Region: West & Central Africa
  • Avg. Weight: Up to 4,000 kg
[ Status : Critically Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • EEHV
  • Habitat Loss
  • Poaching
  • Human-Elephant Conflict

African Savanna Elephant

Loxodonta africana

  • Est. Current Population: 350,000
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Proboscidea
  • Family: Elephantidae
  • Genus: Loxodonta
  • Region: Sub-Saharan Africa
[ Status : ENDANGERED ]

Population Threats

  • EEHV
  • Habitat Loss
  • Poaching & Wildlife
  • Human-Elephant Conflict

Asian Elephants

Elephas maximus

  • Est. Current Population: <50,000
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Proboscidea
  • Family: Elephantidae
  • Genus: Elephas
  • Region: Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia
  • Avg. Length: 5.5–6.5 m (including trunk)
  • Avg. Weight: 2.7 - 4 tons
[ Status : Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • EEHV
  • Habitat Loss
  • Poaching
  • Human-Elephant Conflict

In Partnership With:

AI-Enhanced Orphan Elephant Reintroduction

Partnering with Botswana’s Elephant Havens, we employ our AI platform to study orphaned elephants’ social development for eventual reintroduction. This aids Elephant Havens’ release strategies and provides valuable insights for rewilding elephants in herds lacking a strong adult presence. 

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In Partnership With:

Elephant Drone Behavior Tracking

Deciphering the secrets of elephant behavior could revolutionize conservation for this iconic species. This project utilizes advanced drone technology and machine learning for tracking and studying African elephants, and aims to enhance conservation and research efforts by providing detailed insights into elephant behavior and social dynamics.

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In Partnership With:

Saving Elephants from a Deadly Virus

Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus (EEHV) is a leading cause of death among juvenile elephants worldwide. This project aims to combat EEHV by developing vaccines and treatments to protect both captive and wild elephant populations.

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Black Lion Tamarin

Leontopithecus chrysopygus

  • Estimated Population: Less than 1,600
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Primate
  • Family: Callitrichidae
  • Genus: Leontopithecus
[ Status : Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • Habitat Loss
  • Illegal Pet Trade Pressures
  • Genetic Diversity

In Partnership With:

Black Lion Tamarin

Once stretched along Brazil’s southeast coast, the Atlantic Forest is now a green archipelago; less than 30 percent of its original canopy remains. In these islands of trees, the black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus), a primate found nowhere else on Earth, clings to survival. With fewer than 1,600 individuals left, this Endangered species is a symbol of hope for one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems. The Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ), with support from the Colossal Foundation’s Species Reintroduction Fund, is working to secure a future for the tamarins through population management, habitat restoration, and community engagement in São Paulo’s Pontal do Paranapanema region.

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Bolson Tortoise

Gopherus flavomarginatus

  • Estimated Population: 2,500
  • Class: Reptilia
  • Order: Testudines
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Gopherus
[ Status : Critically Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • Habitat Loss
  • Illegal Pet Trade
  • Predation by Introduced Species
  • Climate Change
  • Slow Reproductive Rate

In Partnership With:

Bolson Tortoise

Beneath the sun-baked deserts of New Mexico, the Turner Endangered Species Fund (TESF) is bringing back a prehistoric relic—the Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus). Once, these gentle giants lumbered across desert grasslands from the American Southwest into Mexico. Climate shifts and human pressure led to its vanishing from its United States range over 10,000 years ago. Today, the Bolson tortoise is listed as Critically Endangered, with a global wild population numbering less than 2,500 animals. Since 2006, TESF has been leading managed breeding and headstarting efforts, raising the first U.S.-born Bolson tortoise in 10,000 years, and begun releasing young tortoises onto vast, predator-managed grasslands.

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California Condor

Gymnogyps californianus

  • Estimated Population: ~340 wild birds
  • Class: Aves
  • Order: Accipitriformes
  • Family: Cathartidae
  • Genus: Gymnogyps
[ Status : Critically Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • Lead poisoning from ingesting spent lead ammunition fragments
  • Habitat loss and degradation
  • Microtrash ingestion by chicks, which can cause injury or death
  • Power line collisions and electrocutions
  • Low reproductive rate
  • Historical overhunting and poisoning

In Partnership With:

California Condor

The colossal 10-foot wingspan of the qú’nes (condor) once shadowed the sheer walls of Hells Canyon, North America’s deepest gorge and a sacred part of the Nez Perce homeland. The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus), now Critically Endangered, has been absent here for more than a century. The Nez Perce Tribe’s Wildlife Division, with support from the Colossal Foundation’s Species Reintroduction Fund, is leading an effort to bring the world’s largest bird back to their ancestral homeland, reviving both an ecological cornerstone and a cultural touchstone.

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Golden Skiffia

Skiffia francesae

  • Estimated Population: Extinct in the Wild
  • Class: Actinopterygii
  • Order: Cyprinodontiformes
  • Family: Goodeidae
  • Genus: Skiffia
[ Status : Extinct in the Wild ]

Population Threats

  • Habitat loss and degradation from water pollution and water diversion
  • Invasive species competing for resources
  • Small, isolated populations vulnerable to environmental changes

In Partnership With:

Golden Skiffia

Mexico’s golden skiffia (Skiffia francesae) disappeared from the wild a generation ago, its spring-fed pools choked by pollution and invasive fish. Today the species clings to existence in a captive hatchery program, where scientists have preserved precious individuals that hold the promise of species survival. Now, the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, with support from the Colossal Foundation’s Species Reintroduction Fund, is working to bring this Extinct-in-the-Wild species back, alongside two other Extinct-in-the-Wild fish, the banded allotoca (Allotoca goslinei) and the Ameca shiner (Notropis amecae). By coupling species reintroduction with large-scale habitat renewal and local stewardship, this project aims to recreate a self-sustaining, native-dominated fish community, and a model for freshwater recoveries across Mexico.

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Northern Quoll

Dasyurus hallucatus

  • Est. Current Population: 80,000
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Dasyuromorphia
  • Family: Dasyuridae
  • Genus: Dasyurus
  • Region: Northern Australia
  • Avg. Length (w/o tail): 25–37 cm | 9.8–15 in
  • Avg. Weight: 350 - 1,120 g | 12 - 40 oz
[ Status : Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • Invasive Species (Cane Toads)
  • Habitat Loss

In Partnership With:

Engineering Cane Toad Resistance in Northern Quolls

The introduction of invasive cane toads to Australia has wreaked havoc on native marsupial predators who have suffered severe population declines due to the toad’s deadly toxins. One of the species that has suffered most is the Endangered northern quoll. This project uses advanced gene-editing technologies to introduce genetic resistance to cane toad toxin in northern quolls. By developing genetically resilient populations, the initiative aims to prevent the extinction of the northern quoll and restore ecological balance.

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Northern White Rhino

Ceratotherium simum cottoni

  • Est. Current Population: 2
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Perissodactyla
  • Family: Rhinocerotidae
  • Genus: Ceratotherium
  • Region: Central African grasslands
  • Avg. Length: 5 to 6 ft | 1.5 to 1.8 m
  • Avg. Weight: 3080 to 7920 lb | 1.4 to 3.6 tons
[ Status : Critically Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • HABITAT loss
  • Poaching

Sumatran Rhino

Dicerorhinus sumatrensis

  • Est. Current Population: 40
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Perissodactyla
  • Family: Rhinocerotidae
  • Genus: Dicerorhinus
  • Region: Central African grasslands
  • Avg. Length: 3.3-5 ft | 6.5-13 feet
  • Avg. Weight: 1,320 -2,090 lb | 0.66 to 1.05 tons
[ Status : CRITICALLY ENDANGERED ]

Population Threats

  • Habitat Loss
  • Poaching

In Partnership With:

Engineering a Future for the Northern White Rhino

Colossal joins BioRescue for the Northern White Rhino project, sequencing viable museum samples to restore genetic diversity. Gene editing tools are being developed to enhance cell lines for embryo transfer, ensuring the restoration of lost genetic diversity.

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In Partnership With:

Protecting Sumatran Rhinos from Extinction

The Critically Endangered Sumatran rhino faces severe population declines due to habitat loss and low genetic diversity. This collaboration seeks to enhance existing breeding programs and leverage genetic sequencing and assisted reproductive technologies to support and increase the population of rhinos in Indonesia.

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Pink Pigeon

Nesoenas mayeri

  • Est. Current Population: 500
  • Class: Aves
  • Order: Columbiformes
  • Family: Columbidae
  • Genus: Nesoenas
  • Region: Mauritius
  • Avg. Length: 36–38 centimetres | 14–15 in
  • Avg. Weight: 350 grams
[ Status : Vulnerable ]

Population Threats

  • Habitat Loss
  • Disease
  • Genetic Erosion

In Partnership With:

Pink Pigeon Genetic Rescue

The pink pigeon, a bird native to the island of Mauritius, faces extinction in coming decades due to severe genetic erosion. This project employs cutting-edge gene editing techniques to genetically rescue the pink pigeon and reintroduce historic diversity into today’s population. Utilizing preserved DNA from museum specimens, the initiative seeks to strengthen the genetic resilience of the charismatic species, ensuring its long-term viability.

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Red Wolf

Canis rufus

  • 17 known wild individuals in North Carolina; around 200–270 in managed breeding programs
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Carnivora
  • Family: Canidae
  • Genus: Canis
[ Status : Critically Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • Habitat Loss & Fragmentation
  • Human-Wildlife Conflict

Gray Wolf

Canis lupus

  • Estimated Current Population: ~200,000+ worldwide // 13,400-16,900 USA
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Carnivora
  • Family: Canidae
  • Genus: Canis
[ Status : Least Concern ]

Population Threats

  • Habitat Loss & Fragmentation
  • Human-Wildlife Conflict

In Partnership With:

Restoring the Ancestral Red Wolf Through Genetic Rescue

The Ghost Wolf Genetic Rescue Initiative is a groundbreaking conservation project led by Colossal Biosciences, the Gulf Coast Canine Project, and local partners to restore the critically endangered American Red Wolf using the unique genetics of Gulf Coast "ghost wolves." By integrating advanced genomics, cloning, and gene editing, this project aims to rebuild the lost diversity of the ancestral Red Wolf and reintroduce it into its native Gulf Coast habitat.

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In Partnership With:

Decoding the Howl: Using AI to Understand the Language of Yellowstone’s Wolves

Partnering with Yellowstone Forever, the official nonprofit partner of Yellowstone National Park, the Colossal Foundation is supporting the Yellowstone Wolf Project through an ambitious new bioacoustics initiative. This collaboration aims to revolutionize how conservationists monitor and protect wild wolf populations by integrating cutting-edge acoustic sensing, machine learning, and continuous ecological data collection across wolf territories in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

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Tooth-Billed Pigeon

Didunculus strigirostris

  • Est. Current Population: 70 - 380
  • Class: Aves
  • Order: Columbiformes
  • Family: Columbidae
  • Genus: Didunculus
  • Region: Samoa
  • Avg. Length: 31 cm
  • Avg. Weight: 400 g
[ Status : Critically Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • habitat loss
  • Hunting
  • Invasive Species

In Partnership With:

Searching for the Lost Tooth-Billed Pigeon

This elusive tooth-billed pigeon, also known as the “little dodo,” is a bird native to the island of Samoa. It is classified as Critically Endangered and has not had a confirmed sighting since 2013. This collaboration is working to develop an A.I.-powered bioacoustic monitoring system aimed at locating the “lost” tooth-billed pigeon using the bird’s unique vocalization.

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Vaquita

Phocoena sinus

  • Est. Current Population: <10
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Artiodactyla
  • Family: Phocoenidae
  • Genus: Phocoena
  • Region: Northern end of the Gulf of California
  • Avg. Length: 150 cm (4.9 ft) (females) or 140 cm (4.6 ft) (males)
  • Avg. Weight: 27 kg - 68 kg | 60 lb - 150 lb
[ Status : Critically Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • Fisheries bycatch
  • Habitat Loss
  • Pollution

Rescuing the Panda of the Sea

The vaquita is the world's smallest cetacean, and it is on the verge of extinction. With only a handful of vaquitas left, this project employs state-of-the-art monitoring techniques to track and study the remaining vaquitas in the Gulf of California. By analyzing this data, the initiative seeks to enhance conservation efforts and develop effective strategies to stabilize and increase the vaquita population.

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Vietnam Pheasant

Lophura edwardsi

  • Estimated Population: Less than 500 left in zoos worldwide – possibly Extinct in the Wild
  • Class: Aves
  • Order: Galliformes
  • Family: Phasianidae
  • Genus: Lophura
[ Status : Critically Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • Deforestation and habitat fragmentation due to logging and agriculture
  • Hunting and trapping for food and trade
  • Extremely small population size and limited genetic diversity

In Partnership With:

Vietnam Pheasant

Once abundant in the lowland evergreen forests of central Vietnam, the Vietnam pheasant (Lophura edwardsi) has not been confirmed in the wild for two decades and is now listed as Critically Endangered—possibly Extinct in the Wild. With fewer than 500 Vietnam Pheasants left in zoos worldwide, this species teeters on the edge of extinction. Led by the local NGO Viet Nature and ZSL, this project builds the final bridge between captive breeding efforts and reintroduction. It aims to release fit, predator-savvy pheasants into protected forest reserves in Quang Binh Province, reviving a flagship species and the unique ecosystem it once shaped.

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Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon

Tympanocryptis pinguicolla

  • Est. Current Population: 120
  • Class: Reptilia
  • Order: Squamata
  • Family: Agamidae
  • Genus: Tympanocryptis
  • Region: Australia
  • Avg. Length: 12 - 15cm
  • Avg. Weight: 5–9 grams
[ Status : Critically Endangered ]

Population Threats

  • Habitat Loss

In Partnership With:

Rediscovering the Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon

The Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon is a Critically Endangered Australian lizard that was rediscovered in 2023 after not being seen for over 40 years. This project established an interim insurance and conservation breeding program for the recovered dragon population, and utilizes cutting-edge genomic technology to stabilize and grow its population.

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Wampukrum Harlequin Frog

Atelopus aff. spumarius

  • Estimated Population: Unknown
  • Class: Amphibia
  • Order: Anura
  • Family: Bufonidae
  • Genus: Atelopus
[ Status : Not formally listed ]

Population Threats

  • Habitat loss from deforestation and agricultural expansion
  • Chytrid fungus ( deadly amphibian disease)
  • Climate change affecting highland forest ecosystems
  • Limited data, making conservation planning more challenging

In Partnership With:

Harlequin Frog

Hidden for millennia in the misty headwaters of the Ecuadorian Amazon, the Wampukrum harlequin frog (Atelopus aff. spumarius) vanished from Quebrada de Napinaza after 2009, battered by mining, habitat loss, and the deadly chytrid fungus. Today the stream is finally protected, and Centro Jambatu’s scientists are ready to reintroduce this iconic amphibian. Over the next year they will breed, transport, and release more than 800 tadpoles, juveniles, and adults—the first step toward rebuilding a vibrant, self-sustaining population in Morona Santiago Province.

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