Modern day Noah works to save animals with science

By: Melissa Appel

Posted: 12/5/08

Professors and students are playing an active role in the fight to preserve endangered wildlife.

Duane Kraemer, Texas A&M University professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine Biomedical Sciences and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is the main scientist in 'Noah's Ark.' The program utilizes the most up-to-date reproductive technologies to protect the population numbers of certain endangered animal species.

"It's an effort to use reproductive technology to assist the preservation of wildlife species," Kraemer said.

The two major efforts are to train students in reproductive technologies, and to do the research necessary to adapt reproductive technology for use in wildlife species, he said.

Kraemer works with a variety of reproductive technologies including embryo transfer, in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination and cloning. Since its inception, Noah's Ark has worked extensively with many species, including oryx, addax, desert bighorn sheep, giraffe and deer.

Cloning animals has been a goal of this preservation process. In 2001, Kraemer was involved in the first successful cloning of a domestic cat. Copy Cat lives with Kraemer. In 2003, the team successfully cloned a white-tailed deer, Dewey. The program has set goals of cloning birds and desert bighorn sheep.

Although the prospect of cloning is an exciting topic for the scientists involved, not all students agree with the ethics behind the practice.

"Cloning any living creature is not a good idea," said Anya Knodt, a sophomore economics major. "Experimenting with the creation of life is going too far, and there is always the possibility of making mistakes with unexpected and horrible consequences."

There are also students who support the cause and the means of getting there.

"I support cloning as long as we don't exploit our limits," said sophomore biology major Austin Flowers. "Now, as far as those limits go, that is another matter. However, I do find cloning fascinating, and I definitely support further research in the matter."

In addition to the goal of successfully propagating the species, there is the opposite side of preserving a species - population control.

"We're concentrating right now on developing contraceptives for wildlife also," Kraemer said. "It's interesting that some species are endangered because they're reproducing too fast and using up their habitat."

Although the technology is very promising, those involved realize it is only one step along the way to preventing other species from going extinct.

"We want to emphasize that this is not the only thing that should be done," Kraemer said. "Habitat preservation is at the top of the list."

The program began in 1983 when Kraemer agreed to help a student from the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences who approached him about applying his reproductive physiology knowledge to save wildlife species.

"I said, 'You teach me about wildlife, and I'll teach you about reproductive technology,'" Kraemer said.

In 1990, a group of interested investors contacted Kraemer and suggested using embryo freezing and embryo technology to preserve wildlife. The group started the Noah's Ark Foundation to raise funds for the research projects.

The foundation has since disbanded because of lack of funding, but Kraemer's research in the Reproductive Science Lab has continued with the aid of research grants.

"Ask not only what nature can do for you, but also what you can do for nature," Kraemer said. "That's what we're trying to do - help nature preserve these species."