Exterminated by man – now he will rise again

“We want to advocate that protecting our biodiversity from further extinction is our top priority,” Andrew Pask, a professor at the University of Melbourne in Australia, told CNN. However, he sees the potential to revive an extinct species in the Tasmanian tiger, which roamed the forests on the South Australian island of Tasmania until the 1930s.

Last thylacine died in the Tasmanian zoo in 1936
The shy species was hunted from 1800 by settlers, who blamed the Thylacine for attacking their livestock. In 1936, the last known specimen died in a zoo in the Tasmanian capital, Hobart. Genetic engineering offers the opportunity to “correct this error,” Pask says. He receives support from the American company Colossal Biosciences, which is also working on the return of the woolly mammoth in a multi-million dollar project.

Video: The Last Tasmanian Tiger at Hobart Zoo

Fat-tailed marsupials are said to serve as surrogate mothers
The return of the Tasmanian tiger must be successful with modern biotechnology: first, Pask’s team wants to reconstruct the genome of the extinct animal. This reconstructed DNA will be compared with that of its closest living relative, the fat-tailed marsupial, to identify the differences. “We then extract living cells from the pocket mouse and alter their DNA,” explains Pask.

“We’re essentially remodeling the pocket mouse cell to become a Tasmanian tiger cell.” Using funds from stem cell research, reproductive technology and using pocket mice as surrogate mothers, the goal is “to turn this cell into a living animal,” the researcher explains. The ultimate goal is to release the species back into the wild. The size difference between the thylacine and the thylacine is not a problem: even large marsupials are small at birth, often barely larger than a grain of rice.

Local biologist warns of risks of genetic manipulation
Austrian biologist Eva Schober is highly critical of such attempts to reverse the extinction of a species. In an interview with the “Krone” she warns of possible serious consequences for the ecosystem. “If the species hasn’t been found in nature for almost 100 years, you have to wonder if this ecological niche still exists,” says Schober.

It’s also unclear how the animals created in the lab would behave in nature — after all, they lack parents and peers from whom to learn. The biologist also doubts its long-term viability. “Sexual reproduction requires as many variations as possible to create a healthy population.” If only a few copies were made, the genetic diversity would be lacking.

Pask emphasizes that uncontrolled releases into the wild are not planned. “Any release like this requires the study of the animal and its interactions in the ecosystem over a long period of time and in large, enclosed areas.” In addition to possible consequences for the ecosystem, Schober also refers to individual animal suffering. “The first individual probably won’t be a healthy creature,” the biologist says, referring to the first experiments with cloned sheep, whose short lives were marked by serious health problems. Breeding a Tasmanian tiger “would probably take many failed attempts. There would be a lot of animal suffering to be afraid of.”

Ethically, Schober warns, such attempts are “extremely questionable.” Both the Tasmanian tiger and the mammoth. “Here only a few and genetically identical specimens would be made, animals would become attractions. With all understanding of the scientific motivation, such research ignores the biodiversity problem.” It would be better to put energy into measures that are really effective for the protection of species.