Sébastien Le Belzic (in Beijing), edited by Gauthier Delomez
modified to
07:45, September 23, 2022
In China, scientists have just cloned a wild Arctic wolf for the first time. This feat should, according to them, ensure the safeguard of endangered species, while the cloning technique has been tested for several years in the country on domestic animals.
From a simple sample of skin, Chinese scientists have managed to create a laboratory exact copy of a wild Arctic wolf. The growth of this baby wolf, named Maya and who has just celebrated her 100 days, is a world first. The animal will be followed for several months before being able to return to the wild and a reserve in northern China.
“The wolf cells were introduced into the oocytes of a beagle breed dog and reproduced using cloning technology,” He Zhengming, vice chairman of the Chinese National Expert Committee on Animal Cloning, told the microphone. from Europe 1.
“Preserving certain rare and endangered species”
“It’s a very good technology”, continues this expert. “Cloning can help preserve certain rare and endangered species”, he explains, because indeed, this feat should allow, according to Chinese scientists, to ensure the safeguarding of endangered species.
But in China, cloning is also big business. The Sinogene laboratory, which carried out this world first, has been cloning pets since 2019. For this, a simple sample of skin or hair is necessary. You also need a very large check: 35,000 euros for a cat, 50,000 for a dog and 80,000 euros for a horse in order to obtain the clone of his favorite animal.