The return of the Tasmanian tiger - 10th October 2022

Tasmanian tigers died around a century ago. But now, scientists at the University of Melbourne want to bring the animal back.

The striped animals look more like dogs than cats. The Tasmanian tiger used to eat anything it could find. Farmers believed the wild animal attacked sheep and so it was killed.

Tasmanian tigers have pouches, like pockets, on their stomachs. These are used to carry their babies. Animals with pouches, like kangaroos or koalas, are called marsupials.

Professor Andrew Pask hopes the Tasmanian tiger can live again. The scientists will take DNA from another marsupial. The mouse-like "dunnart" is the Tasmanian tiger 's closest relative. They'll then change the dunnart's DNA in a science laboratory.

The dunnart mother will be used to carry the new baby. An adult Tasmanian tiger and a dunnart are very different sizes. But both marsupials give birth to tiny babies, as small as one rice grain.

The Tasmanian tiger's part of the island 's history. But not everyone's excited about the news because the process is expensive. Some people think the money could be used to save animals in danger now.