{"id":283051,"date":"2025-12-17T13:35:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T19:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/?p=283051"},"modified":"2025-12-22T13:25:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T19:25:29","slug":"how-the-colossal-foundation-is-using-ai-to-decode-wolf-howls-in-yellowstone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/how-the-colossal-foundation-is-using-ai-to-decode-wolf-howls-in-yellowstone\/","title":{"rendered":"Colossal Foundation Reaches $100M as Its 2025 Impact Report Spans AI-Decoded Wolf Howls to Keeping Species Off the Extinction List"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout Yellowstone National Park, a network of autonomous recorders is listening day and night, capturing thousands of wolf howls. That audio feeds into AI models to learn how wolves communicate, move, and behave in the wild.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The work is a partnership between the nonprofit Colossal Foundation, the Yellowstone Wolf Project, Grizzly Systems, and Yellowstone Forever. Sound, Colossal says, is a reliable, scalable way to monitor wildlife in real time.<\/p>\n

So far, the team has deployed 48 recording units across the park. More than 7,000 unique howling events have been verified and used to train the models.<\/p>\n

Yellowstone Wolf Project\u2019s Dan Stahler called it the “most detailed acoustic study of wild wolves ever conducted.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Four wolves now wear audio-logger collars that pair sound with GPS and motion data. All told, researchers are sifting through more than 200,000 hours of audio to better understand pack behavior, population trends, and emerging threats.<\/p>\n

Making extinction a thing of the past<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Colossal Biosciences is best known for its headlining de-extinction work using genetic engineering to reintroduce key traits of extinct species, such as the woolly mammoth<\/a> and the dire wolf<\/a>. But the Dallas-based biotech’s nonprofit arm has been turning its tools toward species we haven’t lost yet\u2014ones that are under pressure. The Yellowstone acoustic study is a case in point.<\/p>\n

And that work now has more money behind it.<\/p>\n

Today, the Colossal Foundation announced it has secured an additional $50 million, bringing its total to $100 million since launching just over a year ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Colossal Foundation Executive Director Matt James (center) with Colossal’s head of animal husbandry, Steve Metzler, and Wendy Kiso, Colossal’s principal scientist for assisted reproduction. [Photo: Colossal]<\/p><\/div>\n

Conventional conservation can no longer keep pace with the accelerating loss of nature, Colossal said. With a mission to “Make Extinction a Thing of the Past,” the foundation scales partner-led efforts to protect wildlife, restore ecosystems, and build a resilient genetic “safety net” for species worldwide.<\/p>\n

Colossal said biodiversity is underfunded by more than $700 billion annually, making the need urgent.<\/p>\n

Ben Lamm, Colossal’s CEO, told Inc. the funding represents new money for conservation\u2014not dollars pulled from traditional efforts. “We don’t want to ever compete with existing conservation,” Lamm <\/span>said<\/a>. “We want to bring new money to find new ideas and new technologies for conservation.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The foundation also released its first Impact Report<\/a>, which covers projects spanning more than 40 species across six continents.<\/p>\n

In its inaugural year, Colossal said the foundation has launched dozens of projects and partnerships around the world, piloting or deploying over 20 frontier technologies.<\/p>\n

Genetic rescue on the Texas Gulf Coast<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of those projects is taking shape closer to home.<\/p>\n

Working with the Gulf Coast Canine Project, the Karankawa Tribe of Texas, and the American Wolf Foundation, the Colossal Foundation said it helped identify and clone four ancestral “ghost wolves” from the Texas Gulf Coast. The animals carry the genetic legacy of the American red wolf, the world’s most endangered canid.<\/p>\n

Fewer than a handful of red wolves remain in the wild today, according to the foundation. Roughly 300 live under managed care, all descended from just 12 founders. The four cloned wolves\u2014Neka Kayda, Ash, Blaze, and Cinder\u2014each carry 69\u201372% red wolf ancestry, the highest ghost lineage recovered so far, Colossal said.<\/p>\n

The first pup, Neka Kayda (meaning “Ghost Daughter”), was named by the Karankawa Tribe and recognized as the tribe’s totem animal. The effort also produced the first complete red wolf reference genome\u2014a key step toward restoring lost genetic diversity.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Colossal Foundation’s Matt James, during a naming ceremony for “ghost wolf” pup Neka Kayda. [Photo: Courtesy of Colossal]<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

A vaccine that’s already working<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Colossal Foundation’s Impact Report also highlights what the foundation calls the world’s first mRNA vaccine for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). Colossal said the disease is responsible for most juvenile elephant deaths in human care.<\/p>\n

This spring, two young elephants at the Cincinnati Zoo, Sanjay and Kabir, were naturally exposed to EEHV after receiving the vaccine. Neither got sick. Both recovered fully. Without vaccination, the foundation says, that outcome would have been unlikely.<\/p>\n

“I have witnessed elephants battle EEHV and have even lost a juvenile elephant that was under my care,” said Matt James, the foundation’s executive director. “To be able to get a vaccine into the world that can stop this senseless loss means everything to me.”<\/p>\n

Five U.S. zoos have since begun administering the vaccine, with more than ten elephants now vaccinated.<\/p>\n

Scaling the toolkit<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Beyond wolves and elephants, the Impact Report covers work on amphibians, marsupials, and other threatened species\u2014including engineering disease resistance in frogs to fight the deadly chytrid fungus, and developing genetic resistance to help Australian quolls survive the invasive cane toad.<\/p>\n

The foundation aims to add biotech tools to conservation, from AI-enabled monitoring to genomics. And projects like the Yellowstone Wolf Project show how Colossal’s technology can advance conservation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The company said its custom-built AI models automatically identify individual howls, chorus howls, and even gunshots. They cluster calls by acoustic “fingerprint” and extract key metrics like pack identity, size, and pup presence. The “around-the-clock bioacoustic data” allows for non-invasive census, movement, and behavior studies without researchers needing to be on the ground, according to Colossal.<\/p>\n

“By merging AI, acoustics, and rugged field hardware,” CEO Lamm said earlier this year<\/a>, “we’re addressing some of the major challenges afflicting conservation and creating a scalable framework that can support coexistence wherever wolves roam.”<\/p>\n

At the time, Colossal reported that its wolf-classifier trained on a model developed by its AI team can now identify individual and chorus howls with over 92% accuracy. In time, the software will provide deeper insights into wolf “language”<\/a> and social dynamics.<\/p>\n

“We spend our time and money on projects that we think will have a big impact for local stakeholders and in time, the whole of conservation,” said Lamm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

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Dallas-based Colossal Biosciences\u2019 nonprofit arm has doubled its funding to $100 million and released its first Impact Report as it puts technology to work from Yellowstone to the Texas Gulf Coast\u2014and beyond. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":283053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15],"tags":[203258,2751,208530,172675,199858,208527,203262,203257,203254,189374,208529,208528,203263],"class_list":["post-283051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social","category-startup","tag-american-wolf-foundation","tag-ben-lamm","tag-cincinnati-zoo","tag-colossal-biosciences","tag-colossal-foundation","tag-dan-stahler","tag-grizzly-systems","tag-gulf-coast-canine-project","tag-karankawa-tribe-of-texas","tag-matt-james","tag-yellowstone-forever","tag-yellowstone-national-park","tag-yellowstone-wolf-project"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nColossal Foundation Reaches $100M as Its 2025 Impact Report Spans AI-Decoded Wolf Howls to Keeping Species Off the Extinction List » Dallas Innovates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Inside Yellowstone, AI-powered bioacoustics are reshaping wildlife research\u2014and Dallas-based Colossal Foundation just doubled funding to $100M to scale conservation tech nationwide. 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Preston launched the Dallas Innovates' media platform to tell the story of innovation in Dallas-Fort Worth. It was official in 2016 when the Dallas skyline turned purple for innovation. Since then, Dallas Innovates has become a must-read among business leaders and forward thinkers in North Texas. \\\"Our partners call us 'the tip of the spear for innovation news in North Texas,'\\\" she says. \\\"Now it's our tagline.\\\" The media-with-a-mission brand covers what's new and next in North Texas business. \\\"Our lens is lift,\\\" Preston says. \\\"We want to inspire ideas and opportunity. We're a catalyst for connections, here and beyond.\\\" Covering the Dallas-Fort Worth Innovation Economy \\\"Dallas-Fort Worth has all of the core assets that drive an innovation economy,\\\" Preston told D CEO about the launch. \\\"We felt Dallas Innovates could be the center of innovation in business in DFW, from startup to enterprise, and include all the great impact work happening here.\\\" One of our superpowers is our diverse economy: \\\"A lot of places want one thing to hang their hat on, but DFW has many centers of innovation,\\\" she noted. \\\"And the fact that small businesses can work with very large companies here as a Fortune 50 market is a huge advantage.\\\" Preston founded media company Dallas Next in 2021 and publishes Dallas Innovates in a collaboration with the Dallas Regional Chamber. DRC innovation and research chief Duane Dankesreiter and Dallas Innovates co-founder says it's \\\"the drumbeat\\\" for the innovation economy in the region. Dallas Next also publishes the DALLAS\u00ae publications in partnership with the DRC. Dallas Innovates' sister publications include the DALLAS\u00ae Regional Economic Development Guide, the DALLAS\u00ae Relocation + Newcomers Guide, and the\u00a0DALLAS\u00ae Commercial Real Estate, which is a partnership with the DRC and The Real Estate Council. \\\"It's hard to say no to Quincy Preston when she believes in something,\\\" wrote D CEO Editor Christine Perez in the magazine. \\\"She won't stop until she makes it happen.\\\" In a previous role at D Magazine Partners, Preston incubated Dallas Innovates and published the DRC's brand publications. There, she also led the launch of D Healthcare Daily at D CEO and the launch of D TV. Preston developed data solutions to provide insights and measurement for growth across D Magazine Partners brands. Preston has worn many hats in her media career, including stints as a writer, photographer, and award-winning designer. During her long tenure at the Dallas Business Journal, Preston managed budgets, project schedules, resources, and talent; she also developed several cost-saving and income-producing initiatives that were adopted across the ACBJ chain of more than 40 newspapers. Preston's first editorial job was working for a fashion magazine at the Dallas Apparel Mart with an office a few doors down from Lucy Billingsley, daughter of legendary real estate developer Trammell Crow. At the time, Billingsley was running the market center where she led three expansions and a ~7 million-square-foot development. It was good company to be in. Later, when Preston launched an agency that she ran through the early nineties, Billingsley helped her with tough-but-kind advice\u2014and some pivotal connections. Today, Preston helms Dallas Innovates and the DALLAS\u00ae publications group, published by Dallas Next for the Dallas Regional Chamber. The growing DALLAS\u00ae platform includes sister publication Dallas Innovates. Together they focus on Dallas-Fort Worth business, including real estate, relocation, economic development, and innovation. Connect on social media: LinkedIn, Twitter\u00a0 Send news and tips here.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.dallasinnovates.com\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/quincypreston\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/author\/quincy-preston\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Colossal Foundation Reaches $100M as Its 2025 Impact Report Spans AI-Decoded Wolf Howls to Keeping Species Off the Extinction List » Dallas Innovates","description":"Inside Yellowstone, AI-powered bioacoustics are reshaping wildlife research\u2014and Dallas-based Colossal Foundation just doubled funding to $100M to scale conservation tech nationwide. 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[Photo: Greg Meland\/istockphoto]"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/how-the-colossal-foundation-is-using-ai-to-decode-wolf-howls-in-yellowstone\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Colossal Foundation Reaches $100M as Its 2025 Impact Report Spans AI-Decoded Wolf Howls to Keeping Species Off the Extinction List"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/","name":"Dallas Innovates","description":"What's new + next in Dallas - Fort Worth","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#organization","name":"Dallas Innovates | Published by Dallas Next","url":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Dallas-Innovates-logo-purple.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Dallas-Innovates-logo-purple.jpg","width":1782,"height":410,"caption":"Dallas Innovates | Published by Dallas Next"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dallasinnovates\/","https:\/\/x.com\/dallasinnovates","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dallasinnovates\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dallas-innovates"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#\/schema\/person\/31d96a1ad48d703a6b72c03a291cd710","name":"Quincy Preston","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a7b6237fd07da03813670ac36e1677b49e7d53f115936e2c32e5eb4a63a263e3?s=96&d=retro&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a7b6237fd07da03813670ac36e1677b49e7d53f115936e2c32e5eb4a63a263e3?s=96&d=retro&r=g","caption":"Quincy Preston"},"description":"Quincy Preston is fueled by an entrepreneurial spark and driven by mission. Preston launched the Dallas Innovates' media platform to tell the story of innovation in Dallas-Fort Worth. It was official in 2016 when the Dallas skyline turned purple for innovation. Since then, Dallas Innovates has become a must-read among business leaders and forward thinkers in North Texas. \"Our partners call us 'the tip of the spear for innovation news in North Texas,'\" she says. \"Now it's our tagline.\" The media-with-a-mission brand covers what's new and next in North Texas business. \"Our lens is lift,\" Preston says. \"We want to inspire ideas and opportunity. We're a catalyst for connections, here and beyond.\" Covering the Dallas-Fort Worth Innovation Economy \"Dallas-Fort Worth has all of the core assets that drive an innovation economy,\" Preston told D CEO about the launch. \"We felt Dallas Innovates could be the center of innovation in business in DFW, from startup to enterprise, and include all the great impact work happening here.\" One of our superpowers is our diverse economy: \"A lot of places want one thing to hang their hat on, but DFW has many centers of innovation,\" she noted. \"And the fact that small businesses can work with very large companies here as a Fortune 50 market is a huge advantage.\" Preston founded media company Dallas Next in 2021 and publishes Dallas Innovates in a collaboration with the Dallas Regional Chamber. DRC innovation and research chief Duane Dankesreiter and Dallas Innovates co-founder says it's \"the drumbeat\" for the innovation economy in the region. Dallas Next also publishes the DALLAS\u00ae publications in partnership with the DRC. Dallas Innovates' sister publications include the DALLAS\u00ae Regional Economic Development Guide, the DALLAS\u00ae Relocation + Newcomers Guide, and the\u00a0DALLAS\u00ae Commercial Real Estate, which is a partnership with the DRC and The Real Estate Council. \"It's hard to say no to Quincy Preston when she believes in something,\" wrote D CEO Editor Christine Perez in the magazine. \"She won't stop until she makes it happen.\" In a previous role at D Magazine Partners, Preston incubated Dallas Innovates and published the DRC's brand publications. There, she also led the launch of D Healthcare Daily at D CEO and the launch of D TV. Preston developed data solutions to provide insights and measurement for growth across D Magazine Partners brands. Preston has worn many hats in her media career, including stints as a writer, photographer, and award-winning designer. During her long tenure at the Dallas Business Journal, Preston managed budgets, project schedules, resources, and talent; she also developed several cost-saving and income-producing initiatives that were adopted across the ACBJ chain of more than 40 newspapers. Preston's first editorial job was working for a fashion magazine at the Dallas Apparel Mart with an office a few doors down from Lucy Billingsley, daughter of legendary real estate developer Trammell Crow. At the time, Billingsley was running the market center where she led three expansions and a ~7 million-square-foot development. It was good company to be in. Later, when Preston launched an agency that she ran through the early nineties, Billingsley helped her with tough-but-kind advice\u2014and some pivotal connections. Today, Preston helms Dallas Innovates and the DALLAS\u00ae publications group, published by Dallas Next for the Dallas Regional Chamber. The growing DALLAS\u00ae platform includes sister publication Dallas Innovates. Together they focus on Dallas-Fort Worth business, including real estate, relocation, economic development, and innovation. Connect on social media: LinkedIn, Twitter\u00a0 Send news and tips here.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.dallasinnovates.com","https:\/\/x.com\/quincypreston"],"url":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/author\/quincy-preston\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}