Scientistst set to clone mammoths

TOKYO, July 18 (UPI) -- Russian and Japanese scientists are planning to try cloning mammoths from animal specimens that have arrived in western Japan.

The specimens were discovered last year in Russia's northern Yakutsk region and are thought to be the legs of the extinct animal, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday.

The first step is to confirm whether the samples really come from mammoths. The president of Kinki University's Gifu Science and Technology Center said the DNA, believed to be 200,000 to 300,000 years old, might be too damaged for cloning.

If the specimens do come from the giant mammals, scientists will use elephant eggs in the cloning process.

Last year, the Vladivostok News agency in Russia reported that scientists said they thought they could bring mammoths back to existence to create a prehistoric safari park in northern Siberia.