SCOTTISH wildcats could be included in a new “cryogenic Noah’s Ark”.
Nature’s SAFE is a charity that is sailing to the rescue of the world’s most endangered species by collecting live cells from them before they become extinct.
The charity, which is based in Shropshire and is working with partners including the European Association of Zoos, claims it is creating Europe’s first living biobank.
“Nature’s SAFE is unique in its ability to process and live store multiple cell types from multiple endangered species,” founder Tullis Matson told the Sunday National.
“There are many other biobanks in the world but unlike Nature’s SAFE, samples within these repositories are often stored in a dead state for conservation genetic research. Nature’s SAFE processes samples in a way that maintains viability. Once thawed, these living cells can be used directly in endangered species breeding programmes producing pregnancies in our most endangered animal species, or for cell culture.”
Matson said the aim was to include endangered native species like the Scottish wildcat.
“We would love to receive samples from Scottish wildcats,” said Matson.
Human activity is causing the sixth mass extinction – the largest predicted loss of biodiversity for 65 million years.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has found that more than 37,400 species are on the verge of being wiped out.
In Scotland, the wildcat is now on the brink of extinction. Their ancestors were European wildcats that crossed from the Continent into Britain after the end of the last Ice Age, around 9000 years ago. Once widespread, a sad history of habitat loss, persecution and, more recently, breeding with domestic cats, has forced the “Highland Tiger” to a point where the population is no longer viable.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has already taken action to try and save the Scottish wildcat.
Building on the work of the Scottish Wildcat Action partnership, the Saving Wildcats recovery project includes the development of the UK’s first conservation breeding-for-release centre.
Situated at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore, the centre is providing facilities for breeding, veterinary care, remote monitoring and training to prepare wildcats for release into Cairngorms National Park.
RZSS is leading the project in collaboration with NatureScot, the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Forestry and Land Scotland, as well as European partners Nordens Ark from Sweden, which specialises in the restoration and conservation of Sweden’s native wildlife, and Spain’s Junta de Andalucia, which led the successful recovery of the Iberian lynx, once the planet’s most endangered cat species.
The RZSS is also playing a central role in the establishment of the UK’s first national zoological biobank. Housed at the National Museums Collections Centre and Edinburgh Zoo, the infrastructure will improve storage and distribution of animal genetic material for conservation and research.
The national biobank will provide a hub for scientists across the UK, giving them access to tissue, cells and DNA from endangered species, which can be used in research and for conservation planning.
The Scottish zoological biobank hub is being developed as part of the CryoArks Biobank, funded by a £1 million grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
The project brings together Cardiff University, the Natural History Museum, National Museums Scotland, RZSS, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Nottingham to expand and link collections across the UK.
“Well managed sample collections are critical research tools which can be used to improve conservation outcomes for many threatened species,” said Dr Helen Senn, RZSS head of conservation and science programmes.
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