Scientists announce plans to resurrect extinct Tasmanian tiger

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Like something out of Jurassic Park, a Dallas-based genetics company announced Tuesday it is working to resurrect Australia's extinct Tasmanian tiger, also known as the thylacine, to slow biodiversity loss and climate change.

Colossal Biosciences, which is already using genetic engineering to "de-extinct" the woolly mammoth, announced Tuesday it has the DNA and $10 million in funding for its second de-extinction project with the Tasmanian tiger -- the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, before it died off almost a century ago.

The Tasmanian tiger, which was native to Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, appeared about 4 million years ago and went extinct as a result of hunting by humans. The last known thylacine died in 1936, with the species officially declared extinct in 1982.

Colossal's goal is to reintroduce a genetically-modified hybrid Tasmanian tiger, within the next decade, into parts of Australia to hunt non-native predators that prey on native herbivores in an attempt to re-balance the ecosystem.

Read more: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2022/08/16/dallas-colossal-biosciences-announces-de-extinction-project-resurrect-tasmanian-tiger-thylacine-australia-tasmania-biodiversity-loss/3641660669688/


Colossal Biosciences announces it has started working to "de-extinct" the Tasmanian tiger, with plans to re-introduce the species within the next decade to its native Tasmania and Australia. Image courtesy of Colossal Biosciences