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Freya · Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:29 am Post subject: Cloning Thylacines

Hello hello.
Scientists in the Australia Museum were planning on cloning a thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) and releasing it into the wild. While the idea got scrapped, do you think it would have been a good thing or a bad thing? Thylacines have been extinct since the nineteen thirties, and the DNA for the cloning would come from a thylacine pup preserved in alcohol. More info in the link. Thoughts?

http://www.amonline.net.au/thylacine/happening.htm

Elfen_Furry · Moderator Joined: 18 Jun 2002 Posts: 2601 Location: NYC NY

The problems assiociated with cloning an extinct speices is:
1)It habitat may not be the same as it was when it was alive; nor the possibility of its orginal food source be there when you put it back.
2)Like any mammal, it must be imprinted by its parents on how to do things for it self, like hunting and fending for its own...

Then there are other attributes of nature- Predators and competing species for 1 and Man himself mucking up the environment- 2.

If there is any way to get this done, and have it thrive- it is to restore what was once was befoore taking on such a project to ensure its survivability in the wild.

Joshua Fox · Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 12:57 pm Post subject:

Henry_Hound · Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 2:18 pm Post subject:

I vote yes because we humans pushed the species into extinction in the first place. But I agree completely with Elfen, we have to make sure that they'll survive in the wild.

Mewmew · Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 6:22 pm Post subject:

I agree, too, that we'd have to make sure they would survive in the first place. It's been less than 100 years since that species was believed to have gone extinct *some people since that time have claimed to see the animal, but there's never been confirmation that any are still around*. With it being such a short time, there hasn't been chance for any long term adaptation to their being missing. But, since they have been gone for some time there's still some changes that would have come about by now.

Vee Are Are Schee · Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 8:24 pm Post subject:

Sure? Then we can throw them on an island, and people can pay lots of money to go on aforementioned island with only some rope and some rations and see how many they can kill with their wits, and how long they can last until the ship comes back in a week. It pays for itself.

Elfen_Furry · Moderator Joined: 18 Jun 2002 Posts: 2601 Location: NYC NY

I remember hearing of the project since my pre-med college days, and that was over 20 years ago. Cloning itself is about 100 years old as theories go, and 50 as an applied science.

The cloning part is easy; the things that follow, is the problem.