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San Diego’s Frozen Zoo: Where Scientists are Trying to Save Disappearing Species

In a basement adjoining a 1,800-acre wildlife sanctuary in San Diego, California, Marlys Houck, the curator of the laboratory known as the “Frozen Zoo,” tries to help keep disappearing species alive. With an insulated lunch bag of pieces of recently deceased zoo animals, she holds hope for the future.

Houck and her team embark on a meticulous process, transforming these fragments into a living bank of cell cultures. In the heart of the Frozen Zoo, vials containing the essence of over 1,300 species lie suspended in liquid nitrogen, preserving the genetic heritage of creatures ranging from giraffes to rhinos to armadillos.

Established nearly half a century ago by German American pathologist Kurt Benirschke, the Frozen Zoo houses the world’s oldest and most diverse repository of living cell cultures. Its mission transcends mere preservation; it embodies a beacon of hope amidst an escalating climate and biodiversity crisis. As Houck underscores, “Putting species on ice offers one way to be hopeful about the future.” Yet, the urgency of their work is more pressing than ever. With mounting pressures from accelerating extinction rates, every sample that enters the Frozen Zoo represents a critical lifeline for species teetering on the brink of oblivion. For Houck and her team, it’s a race against time to safeguard these biological treasures before they vanish forever.

The process is arduous, each species demanding its own unique preservation methods. However, Houck and her team approach their work with determination. Each vial holds the potential to offer solutions to a myriad of present and future challenges facing biodiversity.

While the concept of resurrecting extinct species captivates the imagination, the primary focus remains on rescuing endangered species from the precipice of extinction. Recent successes, such as cloning a black-footed ferret and reintroducing genetic diversity to Przewalski’s wild horses, underscore the tangible impact of the Frozen Zoo’s efforts. San Diego’s Frozen Zoo stands at the forefront of the global movement to cryobank biodiversity. Sue Walker, a leading figure in wildlife Conservation, emphasizes the imperative nature of their work. “We’re losing species too fast for science to keep up,” she asserts. “The least we can do is try and bank that material down.”