by Kevin Matthews December 28, 2014 (link)
Summary:
Angalifu, one of the six remaining northern white rhinoceroses recently passed away while held in captivity at the San Diego Zoo. With so few northern white rhinoceroses left, conservation and anti-poaching laws will no longer be effective. One possible suggestion for saving these rhinos was cloning.
Even though scientists are not able to do this right now, Angalifu's DNA is being preserved in the hopes that one day, scientific discoveries will allow this species of rhino to be revived. A concern with this is that there won't be enough rhinos to complete this process. With domesticated animals, it has taken over 100 embryos just to produce a single clone, and many female eggs, which are not available from endangered species. This implies that cloning of endangered species may not even be possible at this point.
Another less technical concern is that the habitat destruction, poaching, and climate change that caused the endangerment will not have been solved, even if we manage to save or revive the population. The cloned rhinoceroses would be kept in captivity their entire lives, and the population may never be able to return to the wild. The overall worry is that we will rely too heavily on the possibility that animals can simply be recreated instead of protected while they're still alive.
Even if cloning to revive the northern white rhinoceros is possible, it will never be an effective method for any species compared to protecting them while we still can.
Relevance:
Chapter 13.3 briefly describes animal cloning, which is also related to individual gene cloning, which we spent more time discussing. The basic process involves taking an unfertilized egg and replacing the nucleus with one from another individual of the same species. This was part of a chapter on genetically engineered plants and animals. The article is an example of how this science is applied to problems that the world faces today.
"Saving the White Rhino: Cloning Over Conservation?" Saving the White Rhino: Cloning Over Conservation? Web. 8 Jan. 2015.
Even though scientists are not able to do this right now, Angalifu's DNA is being preserved in the hopes that one day, scientific discoveries will allow this species of rhino to be revived. A concern with this is that there won't be enough rhinos to complete this process. With domesticated animals, it has taken over 100 embryos just to produce a single clone, and many female eggs, which are not available from endangered species. This implies that cloning of endangered species may not even be possible at this point.
Another less technical concern is that the habitat destruction, poaching, and climate change that caused the endangerment will not have been solved, even if we manage to save or revive the population. The cloned rhinoceroses would be kept in captivity their entire lives, and the population may never be able to return to the wild. The overall worry is that we will rely too heavily on the possibility that animals can simply be recreated instead of protected while they're still alive.
Even if cloning to revive the northern white rhinoceros is possible, it will never be an effective method for any species compared to protecting them while we still can.
Relevance:
Chapter 13.3 briefly describes animal cloning, which is also related to individual gene cloning, which we spent more time discussing. The basic process involves taking an unfertilized egg and replacing the nucleus with one from another individual of the same species. This was part of a chapter on genetically engineered plants and animals. The article is an example of how this science is applied to problems that the world faces today.
"Saving the White Rhino: Cloning Over Conservation?" Saving the White Rhino: Cloning Over Conservation? Web. 8 Jan. 2015.
At the moment, are there any White Rhinos left in the wild?
ReplyDeleteThere are no rhinos left in the wild (that we know of)
DeleteAre the rhinos able to breed naturally? At what rate?
ReplyDeleteMost of the rhinos that are left have problems with reproduction, so they are no longer able to breed naturally. They are also all in captivity right now so there is no way for breeding to happen naturally.
DeleteAre there ethical controversies regarding the cloning of endangered species such as the White Rhino?
ReplyDelete