Right now, cloning is not a viable conservation strategy. But some researchers remain optimistic that it will help threatened species in the future
In 2009 the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corp. (Embrapa) and the Brasilia Zoological Garden began scavenging and freezing blood, sperm and umbilical cord cells from roadkill and other wild animals that had died, mostly in the Cerrado savanna—an incredibly diverse collection of tropical forest and grassland ecosystems home to at least 10,000 plant species and more than 800 species of birds and mammals, some of which live nowhere else in the world. Specimens were collected from the bush dog, collared anteater, bison and gray brocket deer, among other species.
The idea was to preserve the genetic information of Brazil’s endangered wildlife. One day, the organizations reasoned, they might be able to use the collected DNA to clone endangered animals and bolster dwindling populations. So far the two institutions have collected at least 420 tissue samples. Now they are collaborating on a related project that will use the DNA in these specimens to improve breeding and cloning techniques. Current cloning techniques have an average success rate of less than 5 percent, even when working with familiar species; cloning wild animals is usually less than 1 percent successful.
Any animals born during Brazil’s new undertaking will live in the Brasilia Zoo, says Embrapa researcher Carlos Martins. Expanding captive populations of wild animals, he and his team hope, will discourage zoos and researchers from taking even more wild animals out of their native habitats. Martins and his colleagues have not yet decided which species they will attempt to clone but the maned wolf and jaguar are strong candidates. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies both animals as “near threatened” on its Red List of Threatened Species, two levels below “endangered.”
Many researchers agree that, at present, cloning is not a feasible or effective conservation strategy. First of all, some conservationists point out, cloning does not address the reasons that many animals become endangered in the first place—namely, hunting and habitat destruction. Even if cloning could theoretically help in truly desperate situations, current cloning techniques are simply too ineffective to make much of a difference. Compared with cloning domestic species—particularly cattle, which have been successfully cloned for years to duplicate desirable traits—cloning endangered species is far more difficult for a number of reasons.
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- Scientists use cloning technology to revive endangered species: 'Conservationists have worked very hard to bring them back'on May 2, 2024 at 3:15 am
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, biotechnology nonprofit Revive & Restore, and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance are collaborating to revive the black-footed ferret population using cloning ...
- A Ferret Died in 1988 and Spawned 3 Clones. Now, They Could Save Their Entire Species.on April 29, 2024 at 8:44 am
In 2020, the black-footed ferret became the first endangered species in North America to be cloned in an effort to increase its vulnerable numbers. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in ...
- How a Cloned Ferret Inspired a DNA Bank for Endangered Specieson April 21, 2024 at 5:00 pm
As climate change, habitat loss and dwindling food supplies bring ever more endangered species “crashing to the brink,” a successful cloning such as this is a serious game changer, says Ben ...
- Cloning makes three: Two more endangered ferrets are gene copies of critter frozen in 1980son April 21, 2024 at 2:22 pm
Scientists in 2021 cloned the first U.S. endangered species, a black-footed ferret ... not happen instantaneously,” Szuszwalak wrote. Cloning makes a new plant or animal by copying the genes ...
- Cloning makes three: Two more endangered ferrets are gene copies of critter frozen in 1980son April 17, 2024 at 1:44 pm
(AP) — Two more black-footed ferrets have been cloned from the genes used for the first clone of an endangered species in the ... Szuszwalak wrote. Cloning makes a new plant or animal by copying ...
- Can scientists clone an endangered species back from the brink of extinction?on April 17, 2024 at 9:15 am
The successful cloning of these adorable predators is a milestone in the effort to save the black-footed ferret, one of North America’s most endangered mammals. Once thought to be extinct ...
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- Dangers of the human cloneson May 1, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The dangers of human cloning were dramatically underlined yesterday. A review of all the world's cloned animals found clear evidence that they are at risk of a catalogue of abnormalities.
- A Ferret Died in 1988 and Spawned 3 Clones. Now, They Could Save Their Entire Species.on April 29, 2024 at 8:45 am
In 2020, the black-footed ferret became the first endangered species in North America to be cloned in an effort to increase its vulnerable numbers. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in ...
- A Ferret Died in 1988 and Spawned 3 Clones. Now, They Could Save Their Entire Species.on April 29, 2024 at 8:44 am
Captive breeding, habitat restoration, and cloning is a much better way to save a species than shoveling animals onto a mythical boat two-by-two (talk about genetic bottlenecks!), but survival of ...
- How a Cloned Ferret Inspired a DNA Bank for Endangered Specieson April 21, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Not all types of animals can currently be cloned because of cloning technology’s reliance on surrogates and live births. “For birds, laying hard-shelled eggs makes techniques like cloning and ...
- Scientists Clone Two Black-Footed Ferrets From Frozen Tissues in Conservation Efforton April 21, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The aim of cloning the animals is to increase the genetic diversity of the endangered species Will Sullivan Daily Correspondent Antonia, one of the new black-footed ferret clones. The first black ...
- Cloning makes three: Two more endangered ferrets are gene copies of critter frozen in 1980son April 16, 2024 at 5:01 pm
“Science takes time and does not happen instantaneously,” Szuszwalak wrote. Cloning makes a new plant or animal by copying the genes of an existing animal. To clone these three ...
- Just Because You Can Clone Your Dog, Doesn’t Mean They Will Be The Sameon April 8, 2024 at 11:00 pm
Hilary Bok, a philosopher at Johns Hopkins University who specializes in bioethics, wrote in a 2002 paper, “Cloning causes animals to suffer.” She points out that the dogs used as egg donors must have ...
- Facts about cloning and its controversyon April 1, 2024 at 3:20 am
Cloning is a technique scientists use to create exact genetic replicas of genes, cells, or animals. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone.
- Human Cloning and Human Dignity: The Report of the President's Council on Bioethicson October 20, 2023 at 5:47 pm
Let me begin by saying that I do not support human cloning. It does not feel right to me and, more important, there is a significant likelihood based on animal studies that it would result in high ...
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