[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.84,0:00:03.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I do want to test this question\Nwe're all interested in:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.80,0:00:06.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Does extinction have to be forever?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.84,0:00:09.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm focused on two projects\NI want to tell you about.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.56,0:00:11.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One is the Thylacine Project.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.40,0:00:13.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The other one is the Lazarus Project,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.19,0:00:15.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's focused\Non the gastric-brooding frog.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.92,0:00:17.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it would be a fair question to ask,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.84,0:00:20.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,why have we focused on these two animals?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.12,0:00:25.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, point number one, each of them\Nrepresents a unique family of its own.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.52,0:00:27.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've lost a whole family.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.12,0:00:29.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's a big chunk\Nof the global genome gone.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.76,0:00:31.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd like it back.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.36,0:00:35.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The second reason\Nis that we killed these things.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.72,0:00:40.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the case of the thylacine, regrettably,\Nwe shot every one that we saw.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.68,0:00:42.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We slaughtered them.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.60,0:00:47.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the case of the gastric-brooding frog,\Nwe may have "fungicided" it to death.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.72,0:00:50.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's a dreadful fungus\Nthat's moving through the world
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.44,0:00:52.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's called the chytrid fungus,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.08,0:00:54.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's nailing frogs all over the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.32,0:00:56.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We think that's probably\Nwhat got this frog,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.39,0:00:58.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and humans are spreading this fungus.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.80,0:01:01.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this introduces\Na very important ethical point,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.68,0:01:03.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I think you will have heard\Nthis many times
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.92,0:01:05.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when this topic comes up.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.56,0:01:07.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I think is important
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.32,0:01:10.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that, if it's clear\Nthat we exterminated these species,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.92,0:01:14.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then I think we not only\Nhave a moral obligation
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.36,0:01:15.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to see what we can do about it,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.86,0:01:20.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I think we've got a moral imperative\Nto try to do something, if we can.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.72,0:01:23.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,OK. Let me talk to you\Nabout the Lazarus Project.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.60,0:01:26.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a frog. And you think, frog.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.48,0:01:29.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yeah, but this was not just any frog.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.88,0:01:32.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Unlike a normal frog,\Nwhich lays its eggs in the water
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.68,0:01:35.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and goes away\Nand wishes its froglets well,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.36,0:01:38.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this frog swallowed its fertilized eggs,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.00,0:01:42.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,swallowed them into the stomach,\Nwhere it should be having food,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.68,0:01:47.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,didn't digest the eggs,\Nand turned its stomach into a uterus.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.20,0:01:50.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the stomach, the eggs\Nwent on to develop into tadpoles,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.56,0:01:54.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in the stomach, the tadpoles\Nwent on to develop into frogs,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.44,0:01:56.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they grew in the stomach
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.12,0:02:00.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until eventually the poor old frog\Nwas at risk of bursting apart.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.16,0:02:04.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has a little cough and a hiccup,\Nand out comes sprays of little frogs.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.24,0:02:06.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, when biologists saw this,\Nthey were agog.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.00,0:02:08.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They thought, this is incredible.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.96,0:02:12.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No animal, let alone a frog,\Nhas been known to do this,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.80,0:02:14.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to change one organ\Nin the body into another.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.96,0:02:18.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you can imagine the medical world\Nwent nuts over this as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.80,0:02:20.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we could understand
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.04,0:02:23.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how that frog is managing\Nthe way its tummy works,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.36,0:02:25.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is there information here\Nthat we need to understand
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.84,0:02:29.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or could usefully use to help ourselves?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.20,0:02:32.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I'm not suggesting we want\Nto raise our babies in our stomach,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.56,0:02:34.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I am suggesting it's possible
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.20,0:02:36.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we might want to manage\Ngastric secretion in the gut.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.88,0:02:39.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And just as everybody\Ngot excited about it, bang!
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.72,0:02:40.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was extinct.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.12,0:02:43.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I called up my friend,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.60,0:02:45.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Professor Mike Tyler\Nin the University of Adelaide.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.00,0:02:50.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was the last person who had this frog,\Na colony of these things, in his lab.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.40,0:02:53.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I said, "Mike, by any chance --"\NThis was 30 or 40 years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.47,0:02:57.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"By any chance had you kept\Nany frozen tissue of this frog?"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.24,0:02:58.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he thought about it,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.48,0:03:02.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he went to his deep freezer,\Nminus 20 degrees centigrade,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.32,0:03:04.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he poured through\Neverything in the freezer,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.60,0:03:08.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there in the bottom was a jar\Nand it contained tissues of these frogs.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.92,0:03:10.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was very exciting,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.20,0:03:13.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there was no reason\Nwhy we should expect that this would work,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.56,0:03:17.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because this tissue\Nhad not had any antifreeze put in it,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.52,0:03:21.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cryoprotectants, to look after it\Nwhen it was frozen.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.20,0:03:23.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And normally, when water freezes,\Nas you know, it expands,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.96,0:03:25.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the same thing happens in a cell.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.80,0:03:30.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you freeze tissues, the water expands,\Ndamages or bursts the cell walls.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.20,0:03:32.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, we looked at the tissue\Nunder the microscope.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.64,0:03:35.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It actually didn't look bad.\NThe cell walls looked intact.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.40,0:03:37.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we thought, let's give it a go.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.48,0:03:41.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What we did is something called\Nsomatic cell nuclear transplantation.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.76,0:03:45.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We took the eggs\Nof a related species, a living frog,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.40,0:03:48.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we inactivated the nucleus of the egg.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.28,0:03:50.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We used ultraviolet radiation to do that.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.72,0:03:55.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then we took the dead nucleus\Nfrom the dead tissue of the extinct frog
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.48,0:03:58.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we inserted those nuclei\Ninto that egg.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.60,0:04:02.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, by rights, this is\Nkind of like a cloning project,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.08,0:04:03.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like what produced Dolly,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.32,0:04:04.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's actually very different,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.96,0:04:07.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because Dolly was live sheep\Ninto live sheep cells.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.72,0:04:10.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was a miracle, but it was workable.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.08,0:04:13.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What we're trying to do is take\Na dead nucleus from an extinct species
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.76,0:04:17.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and put it into a completely different\Nspecies and expect that to work.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.16,0:04:19.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, we had no real reason\Nto expect it would,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.48,0:04:22.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we tried hundreds\Nand hundreds of these.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.80,0:04:25.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And just last February,\Nthe last time we did these trials,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.60,0:04:28.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I saw a miracle starting to happen.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.04,0:04:32.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What we found was\Nmost of these eggs didn't work,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.36,0:04:35.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but then suddenly,\None of them began to divide.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.36,0:04:36.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was so exciting.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.76,0:04:39.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then the egg divided again.\NAnd then again.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.68,0:04:42.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And pretty soon,\Nwe had early-stage embryos
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.72,0:04:45.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with hundreds of cells forming those.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.52,0:04:48.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We even DNA-tested some of these cells,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.32,0:04:52.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the DNA of the extinct frog\Nis in those cells.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.16,0:04:55.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we're very excited.\NThis is not a tadpole. It's not a frog.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.68,0:04:58.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's a long way along the journey
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.44,0:05:01.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to producing, or bringing back,\Nan extinct species.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.28,0:05:02.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is news.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.52,0:05:04.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We haven't announced this publicly before.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.00,0:05:06.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're excited.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.24,0:05:07.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've got to get past this point.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.88,0:05:10.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We now want this ball of cells\Nto start to gastrulate,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.43,0:05:13.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to turn in so that it will produce\Nthe other tissues.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.08,0:05:16.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It'll go on and produce\Na tadpole and then a frog.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.80,0:05:18.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Watch this space.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.04,0:05:20.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think we're going to have\Nthis frog hopping
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.26,0:05:21.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,glad to be back in the world again.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.72,0:05:24.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.56,0:05:25.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.79,0:05:27.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.92,0:05:30.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We haven't done it yet,\Nbut keep the applause ready.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.08,0:05:35.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The second project I want to talk\Nto you about is the Thylacine Project.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.08,0:05:38.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The thylacine looks a bit,\Nto most people, like a dog,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.96,0:05:41.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or maybe like a tiger,\Nbecause it has stripes.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.13,0:05:43.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's not related to any of those.\NIt's a marsupial.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.96,0:05:48.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It raised its young in a pouch,\Nlike a koala or a kangaroo would do,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.16,0:05:53.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it has a long history,\Na long, fascinating history,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.20,0:05:56.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that goes back 25 million years.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.12,0:05:57.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's also a tragic history.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.20,0:06:03.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first one that we see occurs\Nin the ancient rain forests of Australia
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.16,0:06:05.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about 25 million years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.16,0:06:07.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the National Geographic Society
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.52,0:06:09.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is helping us to explore\Nthese fossil deposits.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.78,0:06:11.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is Riversleigh.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.32,0:06:14.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In those fossil rocks\Nare some amazing animals.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.40,0:06:16.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We found marsupial lions.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.32,0:06:18.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We found carnivorous kangaroos.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.92,0:06:21.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not what you usually\Nthink about as a kangaroo,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.40,0:06:23.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but these are meat-eating kangaroos.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.16,0:06:25.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We found the biggest bird in the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.08,0:06:27.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bigger than that thing\Nthat was in Madagascar,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.25,0:06:28.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it too was a flesh eater.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.76,0:06:31.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a giant, weird duck.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.04,0:06:33.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And crocodiles were not behaving\Nat that time either.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.96,0:06:36.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You think of crocodiles\Nas doing their ugly thing,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.36,0:06:37.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sitting in a pool of water.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.80,0:06:40.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These crocodiles\Nwere actually out on the land
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.36,0:06:45.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they were even climbing trees\Nand jumping on prey on the ground.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.60,0:06:49.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We had, in Australia, drop crocs.\NThey really do exist.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.78,0:06:50.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.90,0:06:53.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what they were dropping on\Nwas not only other weird animals
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.94,0:06:55.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also thylacines.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.24,0:06:59.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There were five different kinds\Nof thylacines in those ancient forests,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.20,0:07:03.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they ranged from great big ones\Nto middle-sized ones
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.68,0:07:07.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to one that was\Nabout the size of a chihuahua.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.44,0:07:09.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Paris Hilton would have been able
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.08,0:07:11.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to carry one of these things around\Nin a little handbag,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.76,0:07:13.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until a drop croc landed on her.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.56,0:07:15.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At any rate, it was a fascinating place,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.52,0:07:18.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but unfortunately,\NAustralia didn't stay this way.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.32,0:07:21.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Climate change has affected the world\Nfor a long period of time,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:21.84,0:07:26.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and gradually, the forests disappeared,\Nthe country began to dry out,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.28,0:07:28.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the number of kinds\Nof thylacines began to decline,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.92,0:07:30.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until by five million years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.52,0:07:31.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,only one left.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.72,0:07:35.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By 10,000 years ago,\Nthey had disappeared from New Guinea,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.28,0:07:42.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and unfortunately, by 4,000 years ago,\Nsomebodies, we don't know who this was,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.16,0:07:45.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,introduced dingoes --\Nthis is a very archaic kind of a dog --
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.92,0:07:47.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into Australia.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.16,0:07:48.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as you can see,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.40,0:07:51.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dingoes are very similar\Nin their body form to thylacines.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.24,0:07:54.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That similarity meant\Nthey probably competed.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.20,0:07:56.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were eating the same kinds of foods.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.20,0:08:00.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's even possible that aborigines were\Nkeeping some of these dingoes as pets,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.84,0:08:04.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and therefore they may have had\Nan advantage in the battle for survival.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.30,0:08:06.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All we know is, soon after\Nthe dingoes were brought in,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.94,0:08:09.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thylacines were extinct\Nin the Australian mainland,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.38,0:08:11.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and after that they only\Nsurvived in Tasmania.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.48,0:08:14.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then, unfortunately,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.72,0:08:19.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the next sad part of the thylacine story\Nis that Europeans arrived in 1788,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:19.28,0:08:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they brought with them\Nthe things they valued,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.08,0:08:23.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that included sheep.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.36,0:08:26.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They took one look\Nat the thylacine in Tasmania,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.92,0:08:30.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they thought, hang on,\Nthis is not going to work.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.04,0:08:32.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That guy is going to eat all our sheep.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.94,0:08:35.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was not what happened, actually.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.20,0:08:38.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wild dogs did eat a few of the sheep,\Nbut the thylacine got a bad rap.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.80,0:08:42.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But immediately, the government said,\Nthat's it, let's get rid of them,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.80,0:08:46.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they paid people\Nto slaughter every one that they saw.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.60,0:08:48.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By the early 1930s,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.92,0:08:52.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,3,000 to 4,000 thylacines\Nhad been murdered.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.76,0:08:56.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a disaster,\Nand they were about to hit the wall.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.08,0:08:59.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Have a look at this bit of film footage.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.56,0:09:03.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It makes me very sad because,\Nwhile it's a fascinating animal,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.32,0:09:08.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's amazing to think\Nthat we had the technology to film it
Dialogue: 0,0:09:08.40,0:09:12.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before it actually plunged off\Nthat cliff of extinction,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.48,0:09:15.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we didn't, unfortunately,\Nat this same time,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.12,0:09:19.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have a molecule of concern\Nabout the welfare for this species.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.20,0:09:22.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are photos of the last\Nsurviving thylacine, Benjamin,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.60,0:09:24.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who was in the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.68,0:09:27.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To add insult to injury,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.32,0:09:31.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,having swept this species\Nnearly off the table,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.04,0:09:33.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this animal, when it died of neglect --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.56,0:09:37.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The keepers didn't let it\Ninto the hutch on a cold night in Hobart.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.08,0:09:41.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It died of exposure, and in the morning,\Nwhen they found the body of Benjamin,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.96,0:09:46.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they still cared so little for this animal\Nthat they threw the body in the dump.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.60,0:09:50.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Does it have to stay this way?
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.72,0:09:54.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1990, I was in the Australian Museum.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.12,0:09:55.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was fascinated by thylacines.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:55.88,0:09:57.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've always been obsessed\Nwith these animals.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.00,0:09:59.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I was studying skulls,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:59.28,0:10:02.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying to figure out their relationships\Nto other sorts of animals,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.56,0:10:04.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I saw this jar,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.56,0:10:09.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and here, in the jar,\Nwas a little girl thylacine pup,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.12,0:10:10.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,perhaps six months old.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.84,0:10:13.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The guy who had found it\Nand killed the mother
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.20,0:10:16.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had pickled the pup,\Nand they pickled it in alcohol.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.36,0:10:19.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm a paleontologist, but I still knew\Nalcohol was a DNA preservative.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:20.00,0:10:24.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this was 1990,\Nand I asked my geneticist friends,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.36,0:10:26.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,couldn't we think\Nabout going into this pup
Dialogue: 0,0:10:26.80,0:10:29.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and extracting DNA, if it's there,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.80,0:10:32.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then somewhere\Ndown the line in the future,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.04,0:10:34.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we'll use this DNA\Nto bring the thylacine back?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.28,0:10:38.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The geneticists laughed.\NBut this was six years before Dolly.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.79,0:10:40.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cloning was science fiction.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.56,0:10:41.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It had not happened.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.82,0:10:44.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But then suddenly cloning did happen.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:44.24,0:10:47.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I thought, when I became\Ndirector of the Australian Museum,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.40,0:10:48.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to give this a go.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.76,0:10:50.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I put a team together.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.24,0:10:53.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We went into that pup\Nto see what was in it,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:53.12,0:10:55.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we did find thylacine DNA.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:55.32,0:10:57.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a eureka moment.\NWe were very excited.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.52,0:11:01.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Unfortunately, we also found\Na lot of human DNA.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:01.24,0:11:04.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every old curator\Nwho'd been in that museum
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.24,0:11:06.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had seen this wonderful specimen,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.12,0:11:08.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,put their hand in the jar,\Npulled it out and thought,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.64,0:11:11.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Wow, look at that,"\Nplop, dropped it back in the jar,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:11.20,0:11:12.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,contaminating this specimen.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.80,0:11:14.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that was a worry.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.12,0:11:16.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If the goal here was to get the DNA out
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.36,0:11:20.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and use the DNA down the track\Nto try to bring a thylacine back,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.32,0:11:21.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what we didn't want happening
Dialogue: 0,0:11:21.76,0:11:24.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when the information\Nwas shoved into the machine
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.04,0:11:26.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the wheel turned around\Nand the lights flashed,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.48,0:11:30.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was to have a wizened old horrible curator\Npop out the other end of the machine.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.48,0:11:34.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It would've kept the curator very happy,\Nbut it wasn't going to keep us happy.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.20,0:11:37.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we went back to these specimens\Nand we started digging around,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.28,0:11:40.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and particularly,\Nwe looked into the teeth of skulls,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:40.44,0:11:43.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hard parts where humans\Nhad not been able to get their fingers,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.52,0:11:45.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we found much better quality DNA.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:46.00,0:11:48.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We found nuclear mitochondrial genes.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:48.20,0:11:49.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's there. So we got it.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.72,0:11:52.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,OK. What could we do with this stuff?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.20,0:11:54.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, George Church,\Nin his book, "Regenesis,"
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.42,0:11:57.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has mentioned many of the techniques\Nthat are rapidly advancing
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.48,0:11:59.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to work with fragmented DNA.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:59.52,0:12:04.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We would hope that we'll be able\Nto get that DNA back into a viable form,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.16,0:12:06.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then, much like we've done\Nwith the Lazarus Project,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.84,0:12:09.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get that stuff into an egg\Nof a host species.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:09.92,0:12:12.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has to be a different species.\NWhat could it be?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.36,0:12:14.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why couldn't it be a Tasmanian devil?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.16,0:12:16.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're related, distantly, to thylacines.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:16.76,0:12:20.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then the Tasmanian devil is going\Nto pop a thylacine out the south end.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.16,0:12:24.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Critics of this project say, hang on.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.20,0:12:27.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thylacine, Tasmanian devil?\NThat's going to hurt.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.32,0:12:31.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, it's not. These are marsupials.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:31.20,0:12:34.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They give birth to babies\Nthat are the size of a jelly bean.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:34.08,0:12:37.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That Tasmanian devil's\Nnot even going to know it gave birth.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.48,0:12:38.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is, shortly, going to think
Dialogue: 0,0:12:38.96,0:12:42.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's got the ugliest\NTasmanian devil baby in the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:42.08,0:12:44.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so maybe it'll need some help\Nto keep it going.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:46.44,0:12:48.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Andrew Pask and his colleagues\Nhave demonstrated
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.72,0:12:50.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this might not be a waste of time.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:50.60,0:12:53.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's sort of in the future,\Nwe haven't got there yet,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:53.32,0:12:55.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's the kind of thing\Nwe want to think about.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:55.72,0:12:58.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They took some of this same\Npickled thylacine DNA
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.28,0:13:01.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they spliced it into a mouse genome,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:01.60,0:13:03.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they put a tag on it
Dialogue: 0,0:13:03.12,0:13:07.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that anything\Nthat this thylacine DNA produced
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.12,0:13:09.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would appear blue-green in the mouse baby.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:10.00,0:13:14.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In other words, if thylacine tissues\Nwere being produced by the thylacine DNA,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:14.16,0:13:16.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it would be able to be recognized.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:16.08,0:13:20.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the baby popped up,\Nit was filled with blue-green tissues.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.12,0:13:22.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that tells us if we can get\Nthat genome back together,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:22.92,0:13:24.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get it into a live cell,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:24.40,0:13:26.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's going to produce thylacine stuff.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:27.44,0:13:28.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is this a risk?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.00,0:13:30.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You've taken the bits of one animal
Dialogue: 0,0:13:30.96,0:13:34.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you've mixed them into the cell\Nof a different kind of an animal.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:34.23,0:13:38.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Are we going to get a Frankenstein?\NSome kind of weird hybrid chimera?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:38.36,0:13:39.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the answer is no.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.64,0:13:44.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If the only nuclear DNA that goes\Ninto this hybrid cell is thylacine DNA,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.40,0:13:47.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's the only thing that can pop out\Nthe other end of the devil.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.52,0:13:52.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,OK, if we can do this,\Ncould we put it back?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:52.04,0:13:53.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a key question for everybody.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:53.84,0:13:57.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Does it have to stay in a laboratory,\Nor could we put it back where it belongs?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:57.60,0:14:00.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Could we put it back in the throne\Nof the king of beasts in Tasmania,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.00,0:14:02.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,restore that ecosystem?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:02.52,0:14:06.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or has Tasmania changed so much\Nthat that's no longer possible?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:07.00,0:14:08.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've been to Tasmania.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:08.80,0:14:11.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've been to many of the areas\Nwhere the thylacines were common.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:11.84,0:14:14.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've even spoken to people,\Nlike Peter Carter here,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:14.72,0:14:16.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who when I spoke to him, was 90 years old,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.00,0:14:20.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but in 1926, this man\Nand his father and his brother
Dialogue: 0,0:14:20.88,0:14:22.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,caught thylacines.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:22.28,0:14:23.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They trapped them.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:23.64,0:14:27.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when I spoke to this man,\NI was looking in his eyes and thinking,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:27.96,0:14:34.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Behind those eyes is a brain that has\Nmemories of what thylacines feel like,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:34.16,0:14:36.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what they smelled like,\Nwhat they sounded like."
Dialogue: 0,0:14:36.64,0:14:38.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He led them around on a rope.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:38.20,0:14:40.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He has personal experiences
Dialogue: 0,0:14:40.28,0:14:43.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I would give my left leg\Nto have in my head.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:44.00,0:14:46.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'd all love to have\Nthis sort of thing happen.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.32,0:14:48.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Anyway, I asked Peter, by any chance,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:48.60,0:14:51.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could he take us back\Nto where he caught those thylacines.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:51.36,0:14:53.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My interest was in whether\Nthe environment had changed.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:54.00,0:14:57.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He thought hard. It was nearly 80 years\Nbefore this that he'd been at this hut.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:57.80,0:15:00.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At any rate, he led us\Ndown this bush track,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:00.08,0:15:02.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there, right where he remembered,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:02.08,0:15:03.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was the hut,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:03.36,0:15:05.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and tears came into his eyes.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:05.84,0:15:07.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He looked at the hut. We went inside.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:07.68,0:15:10.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There were the wooden boards\Non the sides of the hut
Dialogue: 0,0:15:10.16,0:15:12.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where he and his father\Nand his brother had slept at night.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:12.96,0:15:15.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he told me, as it all\Nwas flooding back in memories.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:15.64,0:15:18.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said, "I remember\Nthe thylacines going around the hut
Dialogue: 0,0:15:18.32,0:15:19.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wondering what was inside,"
Dialogue: 0,0:15:19.68,0:15:23.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he said they made sounds\Nlike "Yip! Yip! Yip!"
Dialogue: 0,0:15:23.20,0:15:26.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All of these are parts of his life\Nand what he remembers.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.44,0:15:29.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the key question for me\Nwas to ask Peter, has it changed?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:29.88,0:15:31.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he said no.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.12,0:15:33.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The southern beech forests\Nsurrounded his hut
Dialogue: 0,0:15:33.28,0:15:35.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just like it was\Nwhen he was there in 1926.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:35.64,0:15:37.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The grasslands were sweeping away.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:37.64,0:15:39.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's classic thylacine habitat.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:39.64,0:15:42.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the animals in those areas\Nwere the same that were there
Dialogue: 0,0:15:42.52,0:15:43.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when the thylacine was around.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:44.00,0:15:45.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So could we put it back? Yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:46.64,0:15:50.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is that all we would do?\NAnd this is an interesting question.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:50.28,0:15:52.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sometimes you might\Nbe able to put it back,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:52.56,0:15:55.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but is that the safest way\Nto make sure it never goes extinct again?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:55.80,0:15:57.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I don't think so.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:57.36,0:16:00.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think gradually, as we see species\Nall around the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:00.68,0:16:04.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's kind of a mantra that wildlife\Nis increasingly not safe in the wild.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:04.48,0:16:06.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'd love to think it is,\Nbut we know it isn't.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:06.70,0:16:09.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We need other parallel\Nstrategies coming online.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:09.12,0:16:10.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this one interests me.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:10.64,0:16:13.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of the thylacines\Nthat were being turned in to zoos,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:13.39,0:16:15.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sanctuaries, even at the museums,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:15.16,0:16:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had collar marks on the neck.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:17.52,0:16:19.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were being kept as pets,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:19.44,0:16:22.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we know a lot\Nof bush tales and memories
Dialogue: 0,0:16:22.44,0:16:23.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of people who had them as pets,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:24.00,0:16:26.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they say they were\Nwonderful, friendly.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:26.20,0:16:27.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This particular one
Dialogue: 0,0:16:27.44,0:16:30.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came in out of the forest to lick this boy
Dialogue: 0,0:16:30.44,0:16:33.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and curled up around\Nthe fireplace to go to sleep.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:33.07,0:16:34.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A wild animal.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:34.48,0:16:38.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'd like to ask the question.\NWe need to think about this.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:38.80,0:16:44.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If it had not been illegal\Nto keep these thylacines as pets then,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:44.28,0:16:46.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would the thylacine be extinct now?
Dialogue: 0,0:16:46.48,0:16:48.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'm positive it wouldn't.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:48.24,0:16:50.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We need to think\Nabout this in today's world.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:51.24,0:16:55.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Could it be that getting animals\Nclose to us so that we value them,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:55.80,0:16:57.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe they won't go extinct?
Dialogue: 0,0:16:57.20,0:16:59.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is such a critical issue for us
Dialogue: 0,0:16:59.76,0:17:01.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because if we don't do that,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:01.12,0:17:05.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're going to watch more of these animals\Nplunge off the precipice.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:05.28,0:17:06.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As far as I'm concerned,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:06.52,0:17:10.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is why we're trying to do\Nthese kinds of de-extinction projects.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:10.68,0:17:13.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are trying to restore\Nthat balance of nature
Dialogue: 0,0:17:13.76,0:17:15.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we have upset.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:15.79,0:17:16.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:17.00,0:17:19.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)