By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The world’s first cloned wolf, “Snuwolf,” was found dead last Saturday at Seoul Grand Park, a Seoul National University (SNU) veterinary team said Tuesday.
According to zoo staff, which had taken care of Snuwolf since 2007, it was found in its cage with its mouth covered with blood.
An initial necropsy showed no sign of foul play. An in-depth examination was conducted with the results expected in a month.
SNU Prof. Lee Byeong-chun, who cloned the animal back in 2005 from a cell of an adult female wolf, said it seems to be a natural death. “His organs were found to have been damaged, possibly due to the hot weather.”
However, there is some question whether cloned animals may suffer inexplicably from diseases or disorders that ordinary animals recover from.
Dolly, the first-ever cloned sheep in 1996, survived for only seven years, just a little more than the 12-year ordinary life expectancy of a sheep.
Dolly suffered from various diseases beginning three years after her “birth.” Research also shows cloned mice suffer from pneumonia and chronic liver failure, living only a half the life of a natural-born animal.
Snuwolf managed to live three years and 10 months, far less than the average life span of wild wolves, which is 10 to 12 years.
However, there have not been sufficient studies to determine whether cloned animals can maintain their health as well as ordinary ones.
“The death does not mean the cloning process was incomplete,” Lee was quoted as saying.
Snuwolf is one of the two wolves Lee cloned on Oct. 18, 2005. The other, Snuwolfy, is staying in Grand Park’s exhibition room. The two were first seen by the public in March, 2007, each weighing 20 kilograms.
Snu, the prefix to the wolves’ names, stands for Seoul National University. After the successful wolf cloning, the method was hailed as the ultimate solution for the preservation of species on the verge of extinction.
Lee’s team had reportedly been working on mating Snuwolf and Snuwolfy with male wolves “Daehan” and “Minguk,” who were cloned a year after the females.
Lee, who is considered the world’s top expert in canine cloning, said he will continue with animal reproduction through cloning.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
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