Russian scientists are working on cloning extinct Woolly Mammoths and bringing them back out of extinction. While this plan has actually been on for a few years now, a new plan to bring a few other resurrected species together in an enclosed park, where paying tourists can come and see them has now been officially announced.
Joining the Mammoths will be cloned species of cave lions, and extinct horses. All of this, says a report by Inquisitr, should take shape within the next ten years or so.
If this all sounds a lot like the fictionalised world of Jurassic Park, the report mentions that it is, but a lot less terrifying. While there can be a number of parallels drawn between the two, the report points out that this idea involves animals that have gone extinct only for about 10,000 years and very likely walked alongside humans. Dinosaurs went extinct millions of years ago and extracting viable DNA from them is not possible.
This project will reportedly be taken up by researchers at the Northern-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) in Yakutsk.
Melting of Arctic permafrost in the northern Russia has started to produce a number of perfectly preserved, frozen animal specimens. Earlier this month, reports emerged of a prehistoric wolf and caribou that were extracted from the frozen Tundra, with even its fur and skin intact.
In cases where the animals are preserved so well, it could be possible to actually extract DNA samples that are complete and not degraded in anyway say researchers.
Woolly Mammoths could be born no further than a decade away and depending on how cloning technology advances in the meanwhile, says Evgenia Mikhailova, interim rector for North Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk.
With the right investment, which is around $5.9 million, the University will have a "world-class paleo-genetic scientific centre." The report also mentions that the regional government of Sakha has already promised funding.
While the initial reports did not specifically mention that there will be a park with paying tourists, a Fox News story did mention something along the lines of an "Ice Age Theme Park" in 2014. Also, a Harvard scientist is working on a similar project to bring back Woolly Mammoths back.
