Photo (c) Chester Zoo, 2023.
The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria (BIAZA) and Nature’s SAFE, one of Europe’s first living biobank for endangered animals dedicated to halting the catastrophic decline in global biodiversity, have joined forces to save species. The two charities have signed a memorandum of understanding and will be working together through a free cryopreservation and live storage biobanking service to BIAZA zoos. This means the cells of endangered species including monkeys, tigers and elephants might be safely cryopreserved to be used by scientists working to conserve these species. Nature’s SAFE cryopreserves live tissues and cells indefinitely in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees Celsius!
BIAZA is a registered charity representing the best zoos, and aquariums in the UK and Ireland. Over 120 organisations can proudly display their BIAZA membership badges, which signals their commitment to elevating conservation science, natural history, environmental education and animal welfare. Its members care for some of the most endangered species in the world from orangutans to tree snails.
Nature’s SAFE, a registered charity has a mission to Save Animals From Extinction, by collecting, indefinitely storing and regenerating reproductive cells and cell lines from endangered animal species. This is achieved by harnessing regeneration and reproductive technologies. Nature’s SAFE’s bank of live reproductive cells, tissues, and skin can subsequently be used to facilitate species restoration. Nature’s SAFE has currently cryopreserved multiple cell types from 161 animal species including the critically endangered mountain chicken frog, Javan green magpie and pied tamarin.
“This agreement with BIAZA is an extremely important step forward for us. We are building a unique Network of Expertise to enable cutting-edge reproductive and cryopreservation science to be delivered to endangered animal breeding programmes,” said Dr Rhiannon Bolton, Co-founder and Biobank Lead at Nature’s SAFE. “It is our intention to offer a free cryopreservation and live storage biobanking service to BIAZA zoos to further our aim of Saving Animals From Extinction.”
Dr Jo Judge, the CEO of BIAZA said: “I’m incredibly pleased to be working alongside such dedicated and innovative conservation organisations as Nature’s SAFE. We are in an extinction crisis. We are losing nature at a staggering rate. We must be doing all we can to conserve the natural world on which we all rely.”
More information about BIAZA can be found at https://biaza.org.uk/our-association. Nature’s SAFE is a charity whose work is supported entirely by donations – details of the charity and how to donate to this important work can be found at https://www.natures-safe.com/
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Red-footed tortoise
Total Population: Unknown
Smew
Total Population: Around 80,000 in the wild
Mandarin duck
Total Population: Around 65,000 in the wild
Wolverine
Total Population: Around 13,000 in the wild
Asiatic Lion
Total Population: Around 650 in the wild
Black howler monkey
Total Population: Less than 5,000 in the wild
Babirusa
Total Population: Less than 10,000 in the wild
Hamerkop
Total Population: Unknown
Macaroni Penguin
Total Population: Around 12 million
Hyacinth macaw
Total Population: Around 6,500 in the wild
White naped mangabey
Total Population: Around 1,000 in the wild
Lesser Madagascan tenrec
Total Population: Unknown
Little egret
Total Population: 660,000 to 3,150,000 in the wild
Arctic wolf
Total Population: Around 200,000 in the wild
Sumatran laughing thrush
Total Population: 2,500 - 10,000 in the wild
Scimitar-horned oryx
Total Population: Around 400 in the wild
Bar-headed goose
Total Population: 97,000 - 118,000 in the wild
Guianan Squirrel Monkey
Total Population: Around 150,000 in the wild
Common Hippo
Total Population: Less than 150,000 in the wild
Eurasian Red Squirrel
Total Population: 120,000 to 160,000 in the wild
Spix’s night monkey
Total Population: Unknown
