Mammoth Cloning Coming Up?

[Richard W Travsky <rtravsky@uwyo.edu>]

Granted, this isn't dinosaurs, however, it's still
an interesting news story. 

See at  http://www.azcentral.com/news/0908mammoth.shtml

This concerns 23,000 year old frozen mammoth "discovered in 1997 
by tribesmen near the Taimyr Peninsula in northern Siberia". It's
apparently the first one found since WWII.

It is very well preserved, still frozen. A researcher from
Northern Arizona University, Larry Agenbroad, is the only 
American on the team for this. THe plans are to airlift it 
out for study - and with an eye on cloning, thanks to its
state of preservation.

Excerpts:

...

A French explorer, Bernard Buigues, learned about the find last
year and decided to lead a nine-member invitation-only team
to exhume and analyze the mammoth. 

Buigues reportedly became especially excited after he trained a hair
dryer on the animal's head and its smell -- as best he could
determine -- came flooding back. 

...

Buigues convinced the Discovery Channel to pay for and film the
three-month expedition. The cable station plans to air a
two-hour special called Raising the Mammoth on March 15. 

...