Australia's Thylacine Project

The Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus, dog-headed pouched-dog) is a large carnivorous marsupial now believed to be extinct.

The last known wild Thylacine was captured in 1933 and died in 1936. Reports of the occurrence of the Thylacine have continued over the years. These reports have been documented but despite the irregular sightings by a number of credible persons, no live or dead Thylacine has been displayed in over 50 years.

The Australian Museum has a small Thylacine pup preserved in alcohol in 1866. Its cells could be used for cloning. By chance this Thylacine was stored in a jar of alcohol rather than formalin, which would have destroyed the DNA.

In 1999 the Australian Museum decided to explore the possibilitiy of cloning the Thylacine using the specimen in their possession.