Annual Zoo RITZ gala themed, “Cell-ebrating the Frozen Zoo,” celebrates decades of conservation wor

The theme of this year’s Zoo RITZ gala was “Cell-ebrating the Frozen Zoo,” honoring decades of groundbreaking conservation work at the Wildlife Biodiversity Bank’s Frozen Zoo. Established 50 years ago, the Frozen Zoo preserves irreplaceable living cell lines, including gametes and embryos, providing an invaluable resource for conservation, reproductive science, evolutionary biology, wildlife medicine, and yet-to-be-discovered scientific potential. This unique collection of genetic material now contains over 11,400 individual cell lines from more than 1,300 species and subspecies — some critically endangered and even extinct. No other biobank in the world has a comparable number of living cell lines with the potential to reverse losses of genetic variance and contribute to population sustainability for endangered and threatened wildlife. Robert Gleason and Marc Matys, and Stephanie and Don McGuire served as host committee chairs.