To save endangered arctic wolves, the Beijing-based Sinogene Biotechnology Company cooperated with Harbin Polarland on cloning the arctic wolf. As a result, after two years of thorough efforts, the arctic wolf was cloned successfully. It is the first case of its kind in the world.
Born on June 10, 2022, the wolf, named Maya, is energetic and in very good health. Her donor cell came from the skin sample of a wild female arctic wolf, who had been introduced from Canada. However, her oocyte (卵母细胞) was from a female dog, and her
surrogate mother (代孕母体) was a beagle. The selection of a dog as Maya's surrogate was made because dogs share a genetic ancestor with ancient wolves, and it's more likely to succeed through cloning technology.
"This is our new attempt and breakthrough in protecting and breeding（繁育）wild and endangered animals. The birth of the world's first cloned arctic wolf is a milestone for the application of cloning technology and is of great significance to biodiversity, the protection of wildlife, and the restoration of endangered species in the world, " Mi Jidong, the company's general manager, said.
Cloning technology is a breeding method different from natural reproduction. Some raised controversy relating to the cloned arctic wolf. Sun Quanhui, a scientist from the World Animal Protection organization, said that cloning technology is still in the exploratory stage of research, and there are many technical and ethical issues that need to be addressed and treated with caution. Sun believed cloning should be considered only for endangered wild animals whose species are extinct, or whose captive populations are very limited.
The cloned wolf now lives with her surrogate beagle in a lab, and later she will be delivered to the Harbin Polarland and displayed to the public. The cloned wolf would live by herself in the park in the initial stage because she may not be able to adapt to original arctic wolf groups. However, it is reported that the technology of cloning arctic wolves has gained strong value in its application, and another male cloned arctic wolf will come into this world in the near future.
