Extinct Tasmanian tiger could roar back into life after DNA is implanted into a mouse

Australian scientists have managed to extract a gene from a preserved specimen of a Tasmanian tiger and make it active.

The breakthrough has left them dreaming that one day they will be able to recreate the animal, which died out more than 70 years ago. 

The comeback: A Tasmanian tiger looked like a cross between a dog and a tiger

And if it can be done with the Tasmanian tiger, it may also be possible to resurrect creatures that have been extinct for far longer – the premise of the 1993 Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic Park in which dinosaurs were brought back to life.

"There used to be a time when extinction meant for ever, but no more," said Professor Mike Archer, Dean of Science at Sydney’s University of New South Wales.

"We are now able to seriously challenge whether those animals that have gone have gone for ever.

"What has been achieved is a very important step in bringing back those animals that are extinct and while I think that technically it is still pretty difficult at the moment, we can now see the possibilities.

"I’m personally convinced that the Tasmanian tiger will be brought back to life in my lifetime."

The last known Tasmanian tiger died in captivity in the Hobart Zoo in 1936.

The breakthrough came after nine years of experiments by scientists at the University of Melbourne, who extracted a gene from one of several tigers preserved in alcohol in a Melbourne museum.

Implant: A two-week-old mouse foetus showing the blue tiger gene

They removed the equivalent gene from a mouse embryo, implanted the tiger gene and then watched as the mouse continued to grow normally, suggesting the tiger gene had been activated.

Team leader Dr Andrew Pask said it was the first time DNA from an extinct species had been used to "induce a functional response in another living organism".

However, the animal’s entire gene structure would have to be revived in the same way to even begin the possibility of bringing the Tasmanian tiger back from the dead.

Mick Mooney, a wildlife officer with the Tasmanian Government, was worried that such developments could encourage apathy about endangered species.

"If people think that we can bring animals back to life after they’ve gone, they will start saying that there’s nothing to worry about because we can fix it up later."

Extinct: The last known Tasmanian tiger died in Hobart Zoo in 1936