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>From ABCnews.com
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
=20
Copyright 1999 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be = published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.=20
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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.
Copyright 1999 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not =
be=20
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. =