Big Kitties: Cloning cave lions

THEY were one of the most fearsome predators of the ice age, but the recently unveiled remains of a frozen cave lion cub paint a different story.

With its head gently resting on its paw as if in sleep, the 20,000-50,000-year-old specimen, which was showcased yesterday in Yakutsk, Russia, has transfixed scientists.

The find is perfectly preserved, and shows the now extinct species in extraordinary detail. Most striking, is the creature’s face.

Expert Dr Albert Protopopov told the Siberian Times: “It is a perfectly preserved lion cub, all the limbs have survived. There are no traces of external injuries on the skin.”

The level of preservation is so good it raises the hope of cloning the species back to life, he said.

A local found the prehistoric creature in permafrost on the bank of Tirekhtykh River in Russia’s far northeastern Yukatia region.

It is thought to have been aged between six and eight weeks when it died of unknown causes. Its sex is not yet known.

Dr Protopopov said analysis of the cub’s teeth are expected to narrow down its age range, and scientists can expect significant results after approximately three years of research.

This find comes two years after two frozen newborn lion cubs, Uyan and Dina, were found in the same Siberian region.

Uyan and Dina, said to be around 55,000-years-old, were the first prehistoric cave lions to be found so well preserved. One of the cubs is believed to still contain its mother’s milk in its stomach.

“Everyone was amazed then and did not believe that such a thing is possible, and now, two years later, another cave lion has been found in the Abyiski district,” Dr Protopopov said.

No-one knows exactly why these prehistoric lions became extinct, but they died out approximately 10,000 years ago. What little is known about them has been gleaned from bones, tracks and ancient cave paintings.



http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/perfectly-preserved-cave-lion-cub-found-in-siberia-raises-cloning-hopes/news-story/e53aac53022af21dfe090cbafd5dab4d

Lord Foul wrote:mm   they would make interesting hunting

of course if one were to attack someone of your generation , it woyuld of course be the fault of the "older generation" wouldnt it

nicko wrote:Veya thinks he'll stay young, [and foolish] for ever !

Lord Foul wrote:mm   they would make interesting hunting

of course if one were to attack someone of your generation , it woyuld of course be the fault of the "older generation" wouldnt it