The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia)
February 13, 2003

Surviving On Womb Service
by Mark Scala

ENDANGERED animals may soon be grown in related species to help boost numbers following an Australian world first, scientists said yesterday.
Following the successful birth of a foal, using a technique where the sex was pre-determined then the embryo transferred to another horse, scientists hope to apply the same principle to endangered species including whales and primates.

Work is already progressing at Sydney University to apply the principle to gorillas at Taronga Zoo in conjunction with a US scientific company called XY Inc and an American zoo.

It would mean one gorilla female could be made to produce offspring which are then grown in the womb of another primate.

Already there has been some success using similar techniques with the brush- tailed wallaby, of which there are only 27 believed to be in existence, and plans to use it on the northern hairy nose wombat.