extropians: cloning an extinct tiger

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C A N B E R R A, May 13 =97 Australia=92s Tasmanian Tiger, a marsupial = wolf believed to be extinct, may be reborn in only a few years with = geneticists cloning it from perfectly preserved baby =93tigers=94 kept = in museums.=20

Australian Museum director Mike Archer said the discovery of a baby = =93tiger=94 preserved in a jar in his Sydney museum had encouraged him = over the past year to investigate the possibility of bringing the wolf = back to life using its DNA.=20

His Jurassic Park-style plan was reinforced on Thursday when six = other baby Tasmanian tigers, also known as the thylacine, were revealed = in other museums, meaning a greater gene pool could be used and boosting = the animal=92s chances of future survival.=20 Just Waiting for a =91Kickstart=92
=93I=92ve found out that there=92s a total of seven thylacines around = the world, so this isn=92t the only one =97 there=92s a population = waiting to be kickstarted,=94 Archer said.=20

=93There=92s been several geneticists who are now saying it=92s not = a joke, it=92s not silly, it could be done.=94=20

La Trobe University=92s senior lecturer in genetics, Mike = Westerman, said it was possible the thylacine could be cloned in the = =93not-too-distant future=94 if the funds were available. Archer said he = was prepared to hand the baby =93tiger=94 over to anyone with a serious = cloning proposal.=20

Sydney=92s pouch-young thylacine was plonked into its jar in 1866 = and was preserved in alcohol rather than formalin, which would have = destroyed its DNA.=20

Spread Out in U.S., UK and Tasmania
There were thylacines stored in alcohol in the British Museum in London = and in American museums as well as several in a museum in Australia=92s = island state, Tasmania.=20

Archer said he had previously thought it feasible that Tasmanian = Tigers, which grew to about 6 feet long including a long rigid tail, and = have tapering stripes on their bodies, could be sold as pets within 50 = years.=20

But some geneticists had suggested it may happen in only a few = years. =93The important thing is it=92s not a question of if, it=92s a = question of when,=94 he said.=20

Restitution for Earlier Hunting
Australia had a moral duty to revive the Tasmanian tiger, which looked = similar to a wild dog, after early British settlers in Tasmania = mercilessly hunted it down to stop it killing flocks of sheep, he said.=20

The last known Tasmanian tiger was captured in 1933 and died in a = zoo in the Tasmanian capital of Hobart in 1936. There have been numerous = reported sightings of apparent thylacines since then in both Tasmania = and on the mainland, but no evidence has ever been found to prove they = still existed.=20

Thylacines once roamed the Australian mainland and New Guinea but = are thought to have lost out in competition with the wild dogs = introduced by man into both places thousands of years ago and to have = become extinct long before white settlement.=20

C A N B = E R R=20 A,   May 13 — = Australia’s=20 Tasmanian Tiger, a marsupial wolf believed to be extinct, may be reborn = in only=20 a few years with geneticists cloning it from perfectly preserved baby=20 “tigers” kept in museums.
     Australian Museum director Mike = Archer said=20 the discovery of a baby “tiger” preserved in a jar in his = Sydney=20 museum had encouraged him over the past year to investigate the = possibility of=20 bringing the wolf back to life using its DNA. =
     His=20 Jurassic Park-style plan was reinforced on Thursday when six = other baby=20 Tasmanian tigers, also known as the thylacine, were revealed in other = museums,=20 meaning a greater gene pool could be used and boosting the = animal’s=20 chances of future survival.=20

Just = Waiting for a=20 ‘Kickstart’
“I’ve found out that=20 there’s a total of seven thylacines around the world, so this = isn’t=20 the only one — there’s a population waiting to be=20 kickstarted,” Archer said.
    =20 “There’s been several geneticists who are now saying = it’s not=20 a joke, it’s not silly, it could be done.”=20
     La Trobe University’s senior lecturer = in=20 genetics, Mike Westerman, said it was possible the thylacine could be = cloned in=20 the “not-too-distant future” if the funds were available. = Archer=20 said he was prepared to hand the baby “tiger” over to anyone = with a=20 serious cloning proposal.
     Sydney’s=20 pouch-young thylacine was plonked into its jar in 1866 and was preserved = in=20 alcohol rather than formalin, which would have destroyed its DNA.=20

Spread = Out in U.S., UK=20 and Tasmania
There were thylacines stored in alcohol in = the=20 British Museum in London and in American museums as well as several in a = museum=20 in Australia’s island state, Tasmania. =
Archer=20 said he had previously thought it feasible that Tasmanian Tigers, which = grew to=20 about 6 feet long including a long rigid tail, and have tapering stripes = on=20 their bodies, could be sold as pets within 50 years.=20
But some geneticists had suggested it may = happen in=20 only a few years. “The important thing is it’s not a = question of if,=20 it’s a question of when,” he said.=20

Restitution for=20 Earlier Hunting
Australia had a moral duty to revive the = Tasmanian=20 tiger, which looked similar to a wild dog, after early British settlers = in=20 Tasmania mercilessly hunted it down to stop it killing flocks of sheep, = he said.=20
The last known Tasmanian tiger was captured = in 1933=20 and died in a zoo in the Tasmanian capital of Hobart in 1936. There have = been=20 numerous reported sightings of apparent thylacines since then in both = Tasmania=20 and on the mainland, but no evidence has ever been found to prove they = still=20 existed.
Thylacines once roamed the = Australian=20 mainland and New Guinea but are thought to have lost out in competition = with the=20 wild dogs introduced by man into both places thousands of years ago and = to have=20 become extinct long before white settlement.

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