Colossal Biosciences, which intends to create proxy species of the woolly mammoth, dodo, and Tasmanian tiger, claims it has made genome editing breakthroughs that bring it closer to the lost marsupial wolf.

The tiger, also known as Thylacine, was a wolf-like carnivorous marsupial, about the size of a large dog, who once used to roam the forests of Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania. However, the last known Tasmanian tiger died in Hobart zoo in 1936, with the rest of the species hunted to extinction.

A century-old find might play a huge role in bringing the extinct Tasmanian Tiger back to life. Researchers at a Melbourne museum couldn't believe their luck when, during their attempts to bring back the thylacine, better known as the Tasmanian Tiger, they found the answer in the back of a cupboard.

Scientists claim to have made progress towards "de-extinction" and estimate their DNA sequence for the thylacine - or Tasmanian tiger - is 99.9% accurate.

The reconstructed genome, which is over 99.9% accurate, was developed from a 110-year-old preserved, pickled head of a thylacine.