Orange Eyebrows wrote:Isn't immunity something that's developed in the womb and through breastfeeding? So wouldn't the ickle baby mammoth get immunity from the surrogate (presumably a heffalump)?
Yes, immunity is transferred from mother to child. But immunity also partially relies upon genetics, which is one of the reasons why it's important to have a diverse gene pool. Also, it's debatable whether it would be possible to utilise an elephant as a surrogate due to the increased size of the mammoth compared with even the largest elephant. It would probably be a highly problematic birth, which would likely require surgery to complete.
I suppose my point is more that the environment, which includes diseases, food sources, temperature and many other factors, have radically altered from the time when mammoths were a viable species in the wild. If we did clone mammoths they would be extremely poorly adapted to life in our world and would likely require continual care to survive at all.
Also, the mammoth would probably not have access to the complimentary bacteria that tend to exist in the gut and really throughout the body. The elephant surrogate would likely have different or altered bacteria for the same purpose, which the mammoth may not be able to cope with, combined with the difference in diet, it makes for an absurdly difficult thing to achieve with any level of success. That's why I said we need a really good reason to be doing it.