Product Overview
The Truth About the Tasmanian Tiger We All Got Wrong uncovers the truth behind the thylacine, the mysterious Tasmanian tiger whose extinction and attempted resurrection have been shaped by ‘ideas we all got wrong’. Modern science is now revisiting this predator’s evolution, revealing that the thylacine was never the wolf-like hunter many assumed. As efforts toward its resurrection accelerate, the story of the Tasmanian tiger exposes deeper scientific challenges and ethical questions. We need to ask what it truly means to attempt to bring exact copies of extinct species back, using a combination of their own DNA and DNA from surrogate donors.
Curriculum Links:
The Truth About the Tasmanian Tiger We All Got Wrong would be relevant to students in Years 9-10 in the following learning areas:
- Biology
- Science as a Human Endeavour
- Earth and Environmental Science
- Humanities and Social Sciences
General capabilities:
- Understanding interactions between science and society
- Developing a critical perspective to assess evidence and competing claims for science
Key themes:
- Extinction and ‘de-extinction’
- Genetic manipulation and gene editing
- The extinct thylacine in relation to its natural environment
- How society frames its ideas about extinct and endangered species.
The Truth About the Tasmanian Tiger We All Got Wrong can be viewed online here.
This study guide was produced in cooperationwith GeneEthics Ltd.
