Extinct animal cloned, resurrected

THE Pyrenean ibex, a form of wild mountain goat, was officially declared extinct in 2000 when the last known animal of its kind was found dead in northern Spain.

Shortly before its death, scientists preserved skin samples of the goat — a subspecies of the Spanish ibex that live in mountain ranges across the country — in liquid nitrogen.

Using DNA taken from these skin samples, the scientists were able to replace the genetic material in eggs from domestic goats, to clone a female Pyrenean ibex, or bucardo as they are known. It is the first time an extinct animal has been cloned.

Extinct animal cloned, resurrected