Animal Forteana: Woolly Mammoth DNA Inserted into Elephant Cells

ANIMAL FORTEANA

In the beginning of things men were animals and animals men. ~ Algonquin saying

"For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much — the wheel, New York, wars and so on — whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man — for precisely the same reasons." ~ The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy

It's called "de-extinction." Bringing back once extinct animals to the realm of the living. According to this Yahoo news item, scientists are now working on eventually bringing back the wooly mammoth -- sort of. They want to create a hybrid mammoth-elephant that will survive in "... in cold climates, where it should face fewer threats from humans." That sounds disingenuous as well as naive.

Woolly Mammoth DNA Inserted into Elephant Cells - Yahoo News: But woolly mammoths aren't the only candidates for de-extinction. In 2003, scientists briefly revived the Pyrenean ibex, which went extinct in 2000, by cloning a frozen tissue sample of the goat. However, after being born, the clone survived for just 7 minutes. (Yahoo News)

Article also mentions the attempts at bringing back the passenger pigeon and Tasmanian tiger, as well as the obvious ethical considerations. For example, the effect upon the habitat the newly created animal is brought into.