The Clone Wars: Is Lab-Grown Wildlife Really Conservation?
Rare and endangered: the snow leopard. (Photo: Steve Wilson/Getty)
Rajneesh Verma, a Ph.D student at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, has loved big cats since his childhood in India, Treehugger reports. “Cats are supposed to have nine lives,” says Verma, “but with all the threats currently facing endangered wild cats, we wanted to give them a tenth!”
Verma has culled small tissue samples from the ears of snow leopards in an Australian zoo and produced embryonic stem-like cells. These cells could be matured into sperm and egg cells, which might mean that scientists could “grow” copies of snow leopards and other endangered species in the lab without worrying about the complexities of traditional reproduction.
“By generating these stem cells, we’ve taken the first step in creating reproductive cells from adult tissues of an endangered animal,” said Verma. “In the future, we aim to harness the potential of the iPS cells and create off-spring. This would help save species from extinction.”
Although in its infancy, Verma’s research is exciting. But questions remain. Would these animals be able to function in the natural world? What kinds of lives would they lead? Could the emphasis on scientific method detract from the necessity of habitat preservation?
Educating people about the conservation of the planet is essential for the survival of all life. Although stem-cell technology could rewrite the extinction scenario for countless at-risk species, it could also engender passivity about overpopulation, pollution, and the war waged on exotic animals by poachers and the illegal wildlife trade. There are complex reasons for the decline of wildlife, and stem-cell technology must be seen as part of a varied, integrated approach including traditional field work and education to saving animals, not an ultimate solution.
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