For the first time in animal history, scientists clone a wild Arctic wolf 

Most of us are familiar with the term cloning. It refers to the process of producing a genetically identical copy of a cell or an organism with involving natural reproduction. In fact, the art of cloning is nothing new in the scientific world. From sheep to rhesus monkey, various animals have been cloned so far.  

Now, Chinese scientists based at Beijing’s gene firm Sinogene Biotechnology (deemed as a “leading pet cloning company”) have successfully created the world’s first-ever cloned wild Arctic wolf. In fact, the company has recently released footage of a greyish brown cub with a bushy tail named Maya, munching on a snack exactly 100 days after its birth in a laboratory. This is being considered as a milestone in conserving the rare and endangered species (due to climate change and human encroachment) through cloning technology.  

As the name suggests, the wild Arctic wolf is native to the High Arctic Tundra, more specifically Queen Elizabeth’s Islands in northern Canada. The animal is often called by the nicknames polar wolf or white wolf and hardly comes in contact with humans in the wild, according to WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature).  

Sources further cite that Maya is in good health so far. They have also revealed how the donor cell of the cloned wolf cub was taken from a skin sample of a wild female Arctic wolf (the original Maya) that was in turn blended with the oocyte (a cell in an ovary) of a female dog. Interestingly, Maya’s surrogate mother was a beagle, one of the most popular dog breeds in the world.  

Are you wondering why a beagle dog was chosen as the surrogate? Turns out, it shares genetic ancestry with ancient wolves, that in turn ensured the chance of successful cloning, and rightly so.  

For those unaware, this cloning project commenced in 2020 with the goal of saving the endangered wild Arctic wolf. Sinogene Biotechnology in collaboration with Harbin Polarland, an Arctic themed aquarium in China (featuring polar bears, sea lions, penguins and belugas), were the primary stakeholders in the project.  

Okay, so here’s how the cloning happened. It all started with creating 137 embryos from enucleated (method of removing the nucleus from a cell) oocytes and somatic cells (normal cells of an organism that is not involved in reproduction). This was in turn followed by the transfer of 85 embryos to the uteri (plural of uterus) of seven female adult beagles, out of which one reared a healthy wild Arctic wolf cub.  

The original Maya died of old age in 2021 and now the cloned Maya will carry out its legacy and soon be housed in Harbin Polarland. 

Quick fact: The first successful animal cloning was done in 1996 by a Scottish scientist named John Gurdon. The animal in concern was a Finnish Dorset sheep named Dolly, who was birthed using an udder cell from an adult sheep of the same breed.