Siberian cave lions (Panthera leo spelaea) would have looked roughly like modern lions. They lived during the Pleistocene and were distributed throughout Europe, Asia and northwestern North America, before going extinct about 10,000 years ago.

Researchers from South Korea, widely known for their aspirations when it comes to cloning, are now planning to revive this extinct species.

They will try to achieve this by using tissue samples from one of a pair of the animal cubs found preserved in permafrost last year. Cubs were trapped in the ice of Siberia for more than 12,000 years, which have led to their excellent preservation.

Frozen animals were discovered accidentally while the research team searched for the remains of mammoths in the area of eastern Russia, late last year.

South Korean geneticist Hwang Woo-Suk has high hopes that he will be able to clone this animal in a short time. Woo-Suk, already pursuing the resurrection of a woolly mammoth, got his samples after a dispute over tissue sample size was settled via compromise between the Korean and Siberian scientists.

Dr Albert Protopopov claims it is most important at this point to keep the animals frozen as long as possible. Through radiocarbon dating method, he wants to discover more about the origin of the Siberian lions and their relatives.

We will see if Woo-Suk could succeed in the effort to clone this type of extinct lion. Until then, the previously announced woolly mammoth cloning should be done.