But the discovery in August of the well-preserved thigh bone in Siberia has increased the chances of a successful cloning.

Global warming has thawed ground in eastern Russia that is usually almost permanently frozen, leading to the discoveries of a number of frozen mammoths, the report said.

Of course, this raises other concerns – what does it mean for a species to go extinct anymore? And what of the laws intended to protect it? Story via Marginal Revolution.