Monkeys and Jaguars To Be Cloned In Brazil To Save Them From Extinction

In order to save them from extinction, scientists are going to attempt to clone jaguar and certain breeds of wolves, monkeys and deer.

The Brazilian Zoo has successfully cloned cows and horses. Next month, reportedly, they will be attempting to clone other animals. According to a report published in the Telegraph, experts from the zoo have chosen the jaguar, the maned wolf, the black lion tamarin monkey, the bush dog, the collared anteater, the gray brocket deer, the Brazilian aardvark and the bison to clone.

The reports also states that "most are on the red list of threatened species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature."

If they succeed in the cloning process, this will be the first time, scientist have successfully cloned a "big cat." The project is been supported by EMBRAPA, Brazil's state agricultural research agency.

"We already have 420 germplasm samples stored in our bank and are going to continue collecting," researcher Carlos Frederico Martins said in the report published in the Telegraph. "The next stage would be to train researchers in the differences between cloning wild animals compared to cows and horses, of which the country already has more than 100 living clones."

"If a certain species was in a state of drastic decline, at risk of total extinction, and it was possible to provide reinforcement, we will have the capacity," Juciara Pelles said in a statement from the United Nations-funded Tierramérica project. "We are still in the phase of developing the technology, so we still don't know if it will be possible to rescue a population in the wild, but we could potentially make it viable again."

Scientists in the U.S. and South Korea are reportedly working on similar projects.