The Cloning Miracle That Could Save a Species from Extinction – Meet Tray The Cloned Horse

Are you ready to hear a story that will make your heart race with fear and excitement? Meet Trey, the world’s second cloned Przewalski horse who is getting ready to join the herd at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. This endangered species was born in February from DNA that was cryo-preserved in 1980, making it a scientific breakthrough that is changing the game for wildlife conservation.

Trey and his genetic twin Kurt, who was born in 2020, are clones produced from skin cells that were preserved more than 40 years ago at the frozen zoo. These cells were frozen when Reagan was president, giving us a glimpse into how long it took for this remarkable event to take place. But this isn’t just a neat science experiment. This is something meaningful, as lead researcher Ben Novack at Revive and Restore, a wildlife conservation nonprofit that assisted in both clones, describes the incredible experience of meeting Kurt and hopes to meet this second clone soon.

The birth of Trey gives wildlife researchers hope that cloning can be a viable tool for conservation, as nearly all surviving Przewalski horses are in zoos, and until the birth of the recent second Cheval Skyhorse, cloning had only successfully produced a single individual of any endangered species. Both these horses show us that we can go back into the past and potentially clone more of those individuals and completely redo some of the shortcomings of the past century to ensure another few million years of this species on the planet.

Imagine the emotions that must have been felt when Trey was born – a horse cloned from DNA that has been preserved for over 40 years. Dr. Oliver Reinders, the director of conservation genetics at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, says that it’s really a new era in managing populations for sustainability and for their long-term persistence. This is not just about preserving the genetic makeup of a species but also about ensuring its survival in the wild.

Trey will eventually join Kurt and Holly, another Przewalski horse at the San Diego Safari Park, to learn how to be a wild horse. And while this may seem like a small step, it is a significant one in the journey towards saving endangered species from extinction. This story shows us the power of science, the resilience of nature, and the human capacity for hope and progress. It’s a story that will stay with you long after you read it, and it will make you believe that anything is possible if we put our minds to it.