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Putting Endangered Animals On Ice
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Adapted by Megan Mansell Williams and Kathleen M. Wong, California Academy of Sciences
Putting Endangered Animals on Ice
Scientists in Britain are trying to save Earth's animal species from disappearing by taking a page from the story of Noah's
ark. Researchers and collectors from London's Natural History Museum and Zoological Society, together with Nottingham University
scientists, are building a Frozen Ark and stocking it with DNA from endangered species around the world.
This genetic bank will preserve some creatures from the flood of extinctions threatening to wipe out one-quarter of known
mammal species and one-tenth of all bird species within 30 years, they say. In addition to preserving some of the greatest
evolutionary adaptations ad perpetuam, it will allow future generations to study animals of the past.
The Ark already holds tissue samples from the horned oryx, yellow seahorse, and Partula snail, but thousands more species
will be collected in the coming years. Of highest priority will be species whose survival seems most doubtful. Eggs and sperm
that are collected may even allow scientists of the future to resurrect long-gone relics.
Researched by wishintreeUK (Katie)
The IUCN (the World Conservation Union) is the organization that all conservation groups, government agencies, scientists
and academics look to for that information. IUCN brings together the world's leading scientists, to assess the conservation
status of species, subspecies, varieties and subpopulations on a global scale, highlighting species threatened with extinction
and promoting their conservation.
IUCN maintains a complete list of all the species it considers critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable It's called
the Red List of Threatened Species.
Red List of Threatened Species
A Legacy to be Saved
Cetaceans in Danger
The Most Endangered Feline on Earth
The Snow Leopard
The Leopard
The Cheetah
Otters
The Galapagos Tortoise
The Burrowing Owl
Endangered Sea Dragon
Learn why THESE animals are endangered
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