Lesson Plan: Some Scientists Want to Resurrect the Tasmanian Tiger…Others Say No
II. While Reading Activities
Word Inference
- extinct | ikˈstiNG(k)t, ekˈstiNG(k)t |adjective (of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants) having no living members; no longer in existence: trilobites and dinosaurs are extinct | the red wolf became extinct in the wild in 1980 | we might one day resurrect extinct species.
- unworthy | ˌənˈwərT͟Hē | adjective not deserving effort, attention, or respect: he was unworthy of trust and unfit to hold office.
- marsupial | märˈso͞opēəl | Zoology noun a mammal of an order whose members are born incompletely developed and are typically carried and suckled in a pouch on the mother’s belly. Marsupials are found mainly in Australia and New Guinea, although three families, including the opossums, live in America.
- predator | ˈpredədər |noun 1 an animal that naturally preys on others: wolves are major predators of rodents | females defend the nest by actively chasing off predators.
- resurrect | ˌrezəˈrek(t) | verb [with object] restore (a dead person) to life: he was dead, but he was resurrected.
- carnivorous | kärˈniv(ə)rəs | adjective (of an animal) feeding on other animals.
- susceptible | səˈseptəb(ə)l |adjective 1 likely or liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing: patients with liver disease may be susceptible to infection.
- Clone | klōn | noun Biology an organism or cell, or group of organisms or cells, produced asexually from one ancestor or stock, to which they are genetically identical.
- embryo ˈembrēˌō | noun (plural embryos) 1 an unborn or unhatched offspring in the process of development, in particular a human offspring during the period from approximately the second to the eighth week after fertilization (after which it is usually termed a fetus).
- De-extinction | ˌdēˌekˈstiNG(k)SH(ə)n, ˌdēˌikˈstiNG(k)SH(ə)n | noun the production of an organism belonging to or closely resembling an extinct species, by methods such as cloning, gene editing, or the selective breeding of closely related organisms: a leading candidate for de-extinction is the woolly mammoth | the bird’s de-extinction is still far from a reality.
Grammar Focus: Word -Recognition
Humans have been blamed for the animal’s extinction, especially after a bounty program was instituted in Tasmania to protect sheep and other animals.
But in 2017, Andrew Pask, a biosciences professor, led research that found the thylacine also suffered from a lack of genetic diversity.
Reading Comprehension Fill-ins
The thylacine had trademark stripes and, rare in the animal world, abdominal pouches in both females and males. Australian researchers have called it ‘a dingo with a pouch or ‘a dog with a pouch’ — but its DNA also has a lot in common with the kangaroo.
Colossal, which has previously aired plans to resurrect the woolly mammoth, is intent on giving the thylacine ‘a second chance at life.’
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