why don't we just clone animals, facing extinction?

Question

scientists have cloned many animals, such as cows, sheep etc. so why dont we just clone the animals facing extinction?

yeh but there was nothing wrong with dolly the sheep

Answer 1

Cloning is very much in its early stages.
So far the animals produced have all died earlier than would have been expected had they been created naturally.
And that includes Dolly the sheep, I'm afraid -- see here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2764039.stm

And even if/when the techniques are perfected, cloning doesn't widen the gene pool for the species as a whole, so it isn't a long-term solution for the survival of endangered species.

Answer 2

Firsty Dolly the sheep died prematurely, from a lung disease associated with premature ageing.

If you clone an animal you make a replicate, so how will this work when you release them into the wild and attempt to breed them? Cheetah's are already facing problems in that they have reached a genetic bottleneck that may result in their extinction.

Cloning just simply will not work.

However, if it did what would happen to the species of 'original' animals? It is these that should be protected, a copy is just a copy.

And if scientists do decide to clone, what would stop them from maybe 'improving them' such as by making lions, less aggressive, elephants and rhino's smaller.

The main cause of their decline aside from some individual species being hunted for fur, medicine etc is habitat destruction. So where would you put the clones, if there is no where left for them to go?

The eggs and sperm of many endangered species is being collected in sperm banks and stored. This is a final solution in the hope that one day we might cop on and provide suitable habitats, though it is not a replacement for preserving wild populations.

Answer 3

Cloning will probably have its place in preventing extinction. However, it has its drawbacks.
1) Cloning technique is not very well developed yet, and does not always produce good results.
2) Cloning does not produce any genetic diversity. To produce a healthy diversity, we should preserve as many individuals of the species as possible.
3) Cloning is expensive.

Answer 4

There have been several attempts of cloning endangered species such as the gaur (a wild ox from Asia). I guess one problem would be the moral aspect of cloning that we have always brought up. There are so many endangered species that it would be almost impossible to clone every single one. Another problem is that most endangered species aren't mammals and we must try work on birds and reptiles and such.

Answer 5

it is an idea that conservation biologists have...another is freezing semen of them to maintain their DNA for years to come where technology may have advanced to such that it would be useful or there is a need to expand the gene pool

Answer 6

Defective reproduction of animals genetics. Already proven that animals who have been cloned do not survive and are prone to more disease.

Answer 7

I think cloning should be further study in order to established its safety parameters.

Answer 8

mainly it wont stop extinction just prolong it. extinction for many is inevitable and only management and conservation can save them.

Answer 9

wow good idea or they could do the test tube thing! or even somehow make them mate more often if it is safe!

Answer 10

http://www.extinctanimal.com/cloning.htm

Very good explanation!

Good Luck!