Researchers in Spain are trying to clone an extinct species of mountain goat from cells of the last specimen that had been frozen in liquid nitrogen.
Researchers in Spain are trying to clone an extinct species of mountain goat from cells of the last specimen that had been frozen in liquid nitrogen.
The Pyrenean ibex, known in Spanish as the bucardo, went extinct in the year 2000.
Scientists made a previous attempt to clone it in 2003 using the frozen cells, but the calf survived for only minutes after being born.
Even though it didn’t live long, the calf was the first extinct species to be brought back to life using cloning methods.
Scientists are studying the cells from the last bucardo to see if they still viable for future cloning, including implanting cloned embryos into female goats of a closely related species.
The bucardo population was wiped out by several factors including over hunting, and any plan to repopulate the species might be difficult because the only cells that were saved by scientists are from a female goat.
There are two ways to work around that obstacle which include mating the female clones with a sub species of mountain goat, or genetically altering the clones by manipulating their gender.
