Have You Heard of the Frozen Ark Project?

At the end of July in 2004,¹ a very noble effort was begun at Nottingham University in the United Kingdom. The Frozen Ark Project was launched as a charitable organization. Its purpose: to collect and preserve cells and DNA samples from all of the endangered species on Earth, in an effort to catalog for conservation efforts, future reference and possible cloning, the genetic material of these species.²

The first animals targeted for the Frozen Ark Project database are those that only exist in captivity now or are critically endangered. According to the 2008 IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Red List, these animals currently include Wild Horses, the Hawaiian Monk Seal, Cuban Crocodile, Radiated Tortoise, and the Bawean Deer. Next on the Red List are endangered animals, followed by vulnerable and conservation-dependent animals.³ Samples are obtained from zoos, captive breeding projects and wild populations worldwide.

The samples are stored at the Natural History Museum in London and veterinarians from the Zoological Society of London oversee the museum's staff in sample collection worldwide. In addition, there are other worldwide centers with similar databases already in existence that are participating in the Frozen Ark Project. It is the Frozen Ark Project's goal to have the first forty endangered animals added to a global database by the end of 2009, and all of the world's endangered species cataloged by 2034.²

When I first heard of the Frozen Ark Project, I had a few personal concerns that troubled me. First of all, how are these cells and DNA collected and how large a sample is necessary? I was concerned that an animal would have to be hurt or would have to die to provide the genetic material for the project database.

Second, as I was researching, visions of Jurassic Park (1993 film) and The Island of Dr. MoreauMoreau (by H. G. Wells, 1896) came to mind. Would the Frozen Ark Project DNA database be susceptible to future misuse? As in Jurassic Park, would there be a possibility of extinct species being brought back at some point in the distant future, only to harm modern day species, as their original habitat had long been destroyed? As in the disturbing classic, The Island oMoreauMoreau, would there be a possibility of some twisted scientists creating new species by mixing the genetic material of separate species already in existence?

The Frozen Ark Project website put my mind at ease. The charity organization, headed up by Nottingham University, is actually a consortium of twelve world renowned organizations. These inMonashMonash University and Perth Zoo in Australia, The Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species in India, The Wildlife Biological Resource Centre in South Africa, The Zoological Society of San Diego, and The Museum of Natural History in the U.S.A. ²

According to the website, the Frozen Ark Project consortium members have come up with non-invasive ways of obtaining DNA and sperm from animals, so they don't need to be harmed to be included in the database. Also, these twelve organizations are dedicated to moral and ethical scientific research on behalf of the planet Earth! Visit the Frozen Ark Project webFrozenarkzenark.org for more information or to see how you can get involved!

Sources:

1. "Frozen Ark project launches," Natural History Museum, nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2004/july/news_5295Frozenark
2. Frozenark.org
3. iucnredlist.org/documents/2008RL_stats_table_7_v1223294385.pdf