China's First Ever Cloning of the 'Bukgeuk Neugdae' (Arctic Wolf)

Animals Listed on the Endangered Species Red List
Arctic Wolf Somatic Cell and Dog Oocyte Fusion Method, Surrogate Mother is Beagle

[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Cho Young-shin] China has unveiled the world's first successfully cloned Arctic wolf. The Arctic wolf, known as a predator of the Arctic alongside the polar bear, was listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of endangered species in 2012.

Photo by Beijing Daily Capture

According to the China Science and Technology Daily on the 20th, Beijing Sinogene Biotechnology (hereafter Sinogene), an animal cloning specialist company, revealed the world's first cloned wild Arctic wolf. This cloned Arctic wolf, aged 100 days, was shown to Chinese reporters through video footage.

Mi Jidong, Sinogene's chief officer, stated, "After two years of effort, we succeeded in cloning the Arctic wolf," adding, "This cloning success will greatly aid in the conservation of rare animals and endangered species."

Named Maya, this cloned wolf was created by combining genetic material taken from the somatic cells of a wild female Arctic wolf with enucleated dog oocytes. The surrogate mother was a beagle.

Sinogene explained that they produced 137 cloned embryos and implanted 85 of them into the uteri of seven beagles, resulting in the birth of Maya. Because dogs and wolves are genetically similar, dog oocytes were used, and beagles, which have behaviors similar to wolves, were chosen as surrogates.

Sinogene stated that Maya is currently living healthily with the surrogate beagle at the Sinogene research institute in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, and will later be moved to Polarland in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, where she will be publicly exhibited. However, since Maya may have difficulty adapting to a group of Arctic wolves, she is expected to live alone at Polarland for a certain period after the transfer.

Chinese media reported that cloning technology, derived from the cloned sheep 'Dolly,' offers the possibility of diversifying populations of other species and that cloning technology can help protect endangered species.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.