In an experiment that could herald the future of endangered species preservation efforts, lions this year may give birth to endangered Bengal tigers. A team of scientists, led by Betsy Dresser of the University of New Orleans, has frozen about 170 tiger embryos and plans to implant them in lionesses within the next eight weeks. Embryos from nearly 40 other species are also ready for implanting, part of a project aimed at preventing endangered species from disappearing by creating a crypto-zoo where frozen embryos from rare and even extinct species can be matched to suitable surrogate mothers from other non-endangered species. The team has already successfully used a domestic cat as a surrogate mother for an African wildcat. The eventual goal is to release the rare animals into the wild.
