Scientists Are Bringing This EXTINCT Tiger Back to Life!

The Tasmanian tiger has been extinct for 90 years… but scientists are now working to bring it back. The thylacine, better known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, was one of the strangest predators to survive into modern history. The last known captive Tasmanian tiger died in 1936, leaving behind only a few minutes of incredibly rare thylacine footage. But extinction might not be the end of its story. Scientists working with Colossal Biosciences and the University of Melbourne are developing new de-extinction technology that could eventually create a living thylacine-like animal. Using preserved Tasmanian tiger DNA, genome sequencing, CRISPR gene editing, fat-tailed dunnart cells, marsupial reproductive technology, embryos, and artificial pouch systems, researchers are attempting something that would have sounded impossible only a few decades ago. So how close are scientists to actually bringing back the Tasmanian tiger? In this video, we explore the final Tasmanian tiger footage, what really caused the thylacine's extinction, mysterious reports of Tasmanian tiger sightings after 1936, how scientists reconstructed the thylacine genome, why the tiny fat-tailed dunnart is so important, how a future baby thylacine could potentially be created, and the biggest scientific obstacles still standing in the way. Most importantly, we look at the current progress of the Tasmanian tiger de-extinction project to determine a realistic rough timeline for when the first living thylacine-like animal could appear. Based on the project's current progress and recent estimates, the first successful birth could potentially happen sometime around the early to mid-2030s, with roughly 2031–2036 representing a useful estimate if development continues successfully. A true return of Tasmanian tigers to the wild would take much longer. Scientists would first need healthy animals, successful reproduction, genetic diversity, behavioral studies, ecological testing, and approval before any future thylacines could potentially return to Tasmania. For almost a century, the only way to watch a living Tasmanian tiger has been through grainy black-and-white footage. That could change within our lifetime. Subscribe to Dr. Dead Dino for more videos about extinct animals, prehistoric creatures, de-extinction, dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, Tasmanian tigers, rare animal footage, scientific discoveries, and the craziest stories from natural history. 🦖 Subscribe so I can feed my Hatchling. #TasmanianTiger #Thylacine #DeExtinction