Scientists Plan to Clone Extinct Siberian Lion
Plans to clone a species of extinct cave lion have been revealed following the discovery of two perfectly preserved cubs underneath thawing ice in Siberia. Scientists in South Korea have taken samples from the mummified cubs left trapped beneath ice for the past 12,000 years, according to the Siberian Times.
They removed skin and muscle tissue from the ancient animals, named Uyna and Dina, and hope to find out why the species died out, the site reported. One of the cubs found is being frozen indefinitely until more advanced techniques are available to research scientists.
“We intend to keep it for the future,” explained Dr Albert Protopopov.
“The methods of research are constantly being improved, about once a decade there is a mini-revolution in this area. So we will do everything possible to keep this carcass frozen for as long as possible.
We managed to take some samples of skin along with the muscle tissue, and we hope that we will find what we want in these samples.”
Experts will study the samples from the “sensational find” in the hope of finding living cells suitable for cloning, it is reported.
A contractor collecting mammoth tusks near the Uyandina river spotted the cubs by chance last summer through cracks in the ice. “Their wool, legs, tails, ears, eyes, and even moustaches were preserved,” explained worker Yakov Androsov in November.
He added: “The most likely cause of their death is a collapse of soil, which walled up the lion’s den.”
Source: The Telegraph
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