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The Lazarus Zoo: Resurrecting Extinct Species

Posted by timothy on from the here-boy dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The Australian Museum is attempting to resurrect the extinct Tasmanian tiger, using pup cells harvested from storage jars in alcohol from 70 years ago. The tiger was hunted to extinction, and has the ironic distinction of receiving legal protection the same year that the last of its kind (named Benjamin) died at the Hobart Zoo on September 7, 1936. Other cloning attempts at conserving endangered species include the South Asian banteng on an Ohio farm, the world's last burcado (a Spanish mountain goat), a wild Asian ox called the gaur, and even a woolly mammoth." They're hoping for a live birth in 2010.

3 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Ok, ok, ok. All species are equal, yadda yadda... by HaloZero · · Score: 1, Interesting

    'A Spanish mountain goat.'

    Right, but do we REALLYneed more goats? I mean, a goat is a goat is a goat.

    --
    Informatus Technologicus
  2. Big F*cking Deal - Here's why this is not smart. by RedCard · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Here are the facts.

    1) Most species are rare. Very few species can be considered to be common.
    2) Most species have ALWAYS been and will ALWAYS be rare.
    3) Rarity is not something that is special in and of itself.
    4) Extinctions have been happening since the dawn of time.
    5) If a species is extinct, there's most always a reason for it. What has changed that would allow them to survive now?

    Conservation is VERY important, but our time and effort would be much better served by preserving what we have, not trying to undo what we have done. What's done is done. Concentrate on the present.

    WE MUST SOLVE THE PROBLEMS THAT CAUSE HUMANS TO DRIVE SPECIES TO EXTINCTION, THEN AND ONLY THEN SHOULD WE WORRY ABOUT SPECIES THAT WE HAVE LOST.

    Rabid conservationists, please flame away. I'll reply, don't you worry.

  3. Megatherium by texchanchan · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I want the giant sloth back.