ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) — The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, while hosting several members of the top conservation groups in the world, is being recognized for the work of its famous "Frozen Zoo".
“The more recognition that the frozen zoo gets, the more people are aware of how valuable it is," said Dr. Barbara Durrant, a reproductive scientist who has worked extensively on Frozen Zoo projects.
The Frozen Zoo, housed in a facility on the campus of the Safari Park in Escondido, is a room filled with tanks, inside which are billions of cells from more than 10,000 animals, all frozen in liquid nitrogen. The cells can be used to create stem cells, which can then be used to help bring back species from the brink of extinction. The concept has already seen success by helping save two critically endangered species, the Przewalski's Horse and the Black-Footed Ferret.
The Frozen Zoo was the braincild of legendary San Diego Zoo scientist Dr. Kurt Benirschke. Long before genome sequencing and other modern DNA breakthroughs, Benirschke had the foresight to begin collecting samples of endangered species from around the world to be frozen, with the hope that future generations could make use of them for conservation.
“He would be so thrilled. I wish he was here to see Kurt," said Dr. Durrant, referring to a Przewalski's horse named after the scientist.
While the Frozen Zoo was the first of its kind, the success of the program has led other conservation groups around the world to launch their own similar facilities.
“We can help them set up their own biobanks so they can save their own local and national biodiversity, because we can’t do it all. It has to be a worldwide web of biobanks," said Dr. Durrant.
