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A Doe, a Deer, a Deer, a Deer...

Posted by michael on from the bambi dept.

Orne writes "Texas A&M University has announced it has successfully cloned its 5th species, the North American White-Tailed deer (see press release). Though the white-tailed deer is a common species, they hope they can use the knowledge to help repopulate endangered species of deer, like the Key West deer of Florida."

7 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. Near-extinct species... by Leffe · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I don't really see how they are going to save them, they'll need to find a really young/baby specimen if they want some good results, otherwise they'd only get 100 year old babies that die the day they mature...

    Why don't they put all the money they spend into something that has a future(pun semi-intended): Time travel!

    1. Re:Near-extinct species... by TykeClone · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If you have an entire population based off of clones, wouldn't that also have too little genetic diversity?

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  2. Re:As if there was any doubt by Leroy_Brown242 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The deer and populations of North America are not very uniform. There are states in the east that are nearly over-run with deer, and have crazy hunts to get rid of them. But in the west the populations aren't as great as they once were. In Oregon, where I live, it's not uncommon to go a couple years without seeing a legal animal. Only seeing imature deer, or no deer at all. For that reason, I have stopped hunting deer. Just because I can get a tag to hunt these animals, doesn't mean I should.

    As they also stated, this is not just for the white tailed deer. There are a number of other specias that are related to the deer that are on the brink of extiction, like the"Key West deer of Florida." that they mentioned.

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  3. Re:As if there was any doubt by TrueBuckeye · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That may be the only positive I see about the exploding deer population...it may help enable the return of predators. The only thing close to a large predator that I've seen in Ohio over the past 10 years is a single fox, and that shouldn't ever be considered large.
    I've heard of the occasional bear and a cougar or two, but those are so rare. I would love to see the population rise. Yeah, we may loose a few poodles in the mix, but that's worth it to me!

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    Was that night on the marge of Lake LaBarge I cremated Sam McGee...
  4. Seeka Deer ? by andy666 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think I read that the original motivation came from an interest in cloning the Seeka deer, which lives on an island off of South Carolina. This deer is strange because it has 5 stomachs, and was of interest for some medical reason.

  5. Adaptability at the cellular level? by gregwbrooks · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I've heard White-Tailed Deer described as a "weedy" species because they can adapt so readily to a big range of circumstances. I wonder if the weediness carries down to the genetic level and makes intra-cell mucking about (i.e., cloning) more viable?

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  6. just a thought by theMerovingian · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Deer will breed well in captivity, or in semi-protected forests. Not to take away from the accomplishment of cloning a deer, but it probably isn't cost effective from a conservation perspective.

    Cloning panda bears, tigers, or condors might give a more favorable biodiversity/dollars-spent-on-cloning ratio.

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    "If you think you have things under control, you're not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti