Hwang Woo-suk, a veterinary scientist who doctored his research data claiming to have cloned the world’s first human embryonic stem cells, claimed Sunday that he had become the first to succeed in cloning endangered coyotes.

“We produced the cloned coyotes by extracting adult skin cells from coyotes and transferring them into a dog’s egg,” Hwang said in a ceremony in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, to donate the eight cloned coyotes to the Gyeonggi provincial government.

A research paper on the cloning work is currently under review by foreign journals, he said.

Leading Sooam Biotech Research Center in Seoul, Hwang has continued cloning experiments under a lower profile since the fake cloning scandal of 2005. The Gyeonggi provincial government recently started supporting Hwang on his work to clone endangered species.

Hwang said he has a vision to bring back into reality already-distinct mammoths by cloning, using elephants.

“I am currently working on cloning of lykaons (African hunting dogs) by using dogs, which is a cross-genus experiment. If successful, I will be one step closer to cloning mammoths through elephants,” Hwang said.

Gyeonggi Gov. Kim Moon-soo vowed to fully support Hwang’s future research.

“I hope that Hwang and I could hold more ceremonies in the near future to celebrate the cloning of lykaons and mammoths,” Kim said.

South Korea’s bio-engineering industry suffered a major setback after it was revealed that Hwang’s much-touted human cloning work was faked.

More than five years after the scandal the country, and Hwang, is gearing up to retake the powerhouse position in the global cloning field.

Recently, President Lee Myung-bak made clear his intention to introduce a series of regulatory reforms on stem cell research, as part of his plan to develop the bio-engineering industry as the country’s new economic growth engine.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)