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Can the King of Beasts be copied? That is the question some conservationists are pondering as lion populations dwindle worldwide. They say cloning — using advanced biological techniques to create genetic duplicates of existing lions — could become part of the effort to save the big cats. Other experts, however, are skeptical. Cloning lions would be difficult and expensive, they argue, adding that it won’t really solve the major problems facing the big cats, such as habitat loss. For the moment, they say, the money would be better spent on more traditional conservation efforts.

It’s a debate that couldn’t have even occurred a decade ago. Cloning a mammal was beyond the reach of science until 1996, when researchers managed to create a cloned sheep named Dolly. Since then, scientists have learned how to clone a host of other mammals, including mice, sheep, cows, dogs, and small cats. In 2002, scientists in Texas announced that they had cloned a domestic cat. They named the genetic replicate kitten “CC,” for “carbon copy.”

The breakthrough got some cat conservationists thinking. Cloning, they realized, could be a way to preserve the gene pool of dwindling cat populations, and perhaps create robust animals that could eventually be returned to the wild. In theory, genes could even be taken from the frozen tissues of dead animals, then reintroduced into populations through cloning. In essence, the dead could “walk again.”

In 2003, one conservation center began to follow through on these ideas. In New Orleans, the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species succeeded in cloning the first African wildcat, the bigger, wilder cousin of the common domestic cat. Eventually the team produced seven clones. Then, in 2005, the researchers went a step further. Two of the clones were allowed to mate, producing eight kittens. The births confirmed the idea that maybe, someday, cloned animals might be used to repopulate endangered species.

“We couldn’t be happier with these births,” Audubon researcher Betsy Dresser said at the time. “By improving the cloning process and then encouraging cloned animals to breed and make babies, we can revive the genes of individuals who might not be reproductively viable otherwise, and we can save genes from animals in the wild.”

Ultimately, she said, similar techniques might be used to reinvigorate populations of endangered small cats, such as Asia’s fishing cats and India’s rusty spotted cat, the world’s smallest feline. “The goal is to use whatever tools we can to help boost these populations,” explained Dresser. She cautioned, however, that while cloning could help conservation, “no single approach is going to solve the incredibly complex problem of disappearing wildlife.”

That complexity has helped spark controversy in India, where in 2004 scientists announced ambitious plans to clone the highly endangered Asian lion. Fewer than 300 are believed to exist, and the small group of Indian researchers said they wanted to spend $1 million to clone and restore the big cats.

The announcement drew criticism from conservation groups, who said the project raised false hopes. One problem, they noted, is that even if scientists succeeded in cloning the lions, their natural habitat is rapidly being lost to farms and development. “We spend millions of rupees trying to clone…lions, but where will we put them?” Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India asked reporters.

In addition, experts predict that cloning a lion won’t be easy. The vast majority of cloning experiments end in failure, they say, noting that it took more than 300 tries to create Dolly the sheep. Adding to the challenge is the fact that every mammal species has its own biological quirks when it comes to reproduction. Cloning a dog proved far more difficult than cloning a cat, for instance, because of some details of its reproductive biology.

In India, lion cloning advocates predict those technical problems will be overcome. So far, however, no scientist has succeeded in cloning one of the big cats. For the moment, weighing the potential risks and benefits of making copies of the King of Beasts remains a mostly hypothetical debate.

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Season 28 kicks off October 25 with the third installment in the Cloud saga, Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions.

What are you most excited for?

Jasper with his mother, Feldspar

Dear Friends of Cloud:

Last week we spent three days on the Pryors with the wild horses and were thrilled to see so many of the 2009 foals. On top of the mountain we found Cloud’s stepson, Flint, with his mare and new son! Flint won the blaze-faced grulla mare, Feldspar, last spring. He lost Feldspar to Prince during the summer, but won her back this spring before the birth of their son. We named the darling grulla colt Jasper. He is a delight and reminds me of Flint as a baby.

Windflower with Flax

Cloud has had a few changes in his family band as well. His daughter and granddaughter, Firestorm and Ember, are now with the coyote-dun band stallion, Jackson. When we walked out to get a closer look at Firestorm and Ember, we had our biggest surprise of the trip. Cloud’s dun mare was with Jackson, too. Beside the mare was a tiny foal that took my breath away. She looks like Cloud did as a foal, not necessarily in color, but in her lovely conformation and bright expression. We named her Windflower. Oddly, the pair has been wandering around on their own for nearly a month, and they weren’t even with Jackson earlier in the day, so we’ll see if this liaison lasts. Because of the cool, rainy weather many of the horses, including Cloud and his family, were far down the mountain. I’m hoping Cloud will try to win back the mare and little Windflower when he comes to the mountaintop. Stay tuned!

Our trip was bittersweet because of the BLM’s plan to remove nearly half the herd beginning on August 30. Many of the beautiful horses who grazed so peacefully in their green meadows could lose what they value most–their freedom and their families. The herd is around 195 horses (excluding foals) and removing nearly half of them would decimate their unique Spanish genetics and jeopardize their future survival. The BLM is going to be targeting not just the young horses but, dangerously, horses 11-15 years of age. This is Cloud’s age group, and over two-thirds of the band stallions fall into this age category as well. The BLM will not even guarantee that Cloud will remain in the wild.

We need national media coverage to save this little herd and so many others that face annihilation. I’m in Sacramento today (Monday, June 15) for the National BLM Wild Horse and Burro meeting. This will be an important meeting that follows the Western States Horse Expo, and we hope that both the public and the media will be there to support the horses.

Happy Trails!
Ginger Kathrens

P.S. The third program in the Cloud series, Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions, will premiere on NATURE nationwide on October 25, 2009. It is our hope that these programs continue to share the beauty of wild horses families and will help to keep them in the wild for many generations to come.