There are individuals who come into this world and dedicate their lives and skills to improving critical aspects of our society and creating lasting change. Dr Paul Bartels, a leader in biotechnology and wildlife conservation, was one of them. Today, we honour his memory.
South Africa (16 July 2025) – The world of science and conservation has lost a true pioneer whose groundbreaking work in assisted reproductive technology has left an indelible mark on wildlife conservation.
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) is saddened by the sudden passing of a former colleague and a leader, Dr Paul Bartels.
“Paul was a pioneer in this cutting-edge field, which merges science and conservation by aiming to futureproof the genetic composition of captive and wild gene pools when wildlife populations may not be able to do this naturally,” EWT shares.
Paul’s vision led to the establishment of Africa’s first wildlife biobank, the Wildlife Biological Resource Centre (wBRC), in 1996 under the EWT.
What began as a humble research project at the Tompi Seleka Agricultural College in Limpopo grew into a global learning platform, spearheading the development of biotech for the safe and effective collection, storage, and potential reuse of reproductive materials from iconic African species like lions, elephants, and rhinos.
A significant moment in history for the wBRC arrived in 1998 with the birth of Graca, the world’s first artificially inseminated wildlife baby, an eland female.
“Graca was conceived via artificial insemination using the sperm that had been collected post-mortem from an eland bull that had died four hours prior to semen collection.
“The semen was then frozen and used over a year later to inseminate an eland cow at the Johannesburg Zoo. Graca made history by showing the world that the genetics from wild species can still play a role in maintaining genetic diversity, even after the donor animal has died before collection.
“Paul’s work was considered of strategic importance, resulting in the wBRC moving from the Endangered Wildlife Trust to the National Zoological Gardens under the National Research Foundation, and later became the National Wildlife Biobank under the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).”
His innovative spirit extended beyond wildlife conservation. He leveraged his 25 years of experience to found companies focused on food security, developing lab-produced meat.
His entrepreneurial drive also led to WildBio Co, which created the world’s largest African species biobank to accelerate biomedical, foodtech, and biotech industries, and CryoWild, a non-profit organisation.
Beyond these endeavours, Paul was also a dedicated educator and researcher, serving as a lecturer at Tshwane University of Technology and a Research Fellow at Stellenbosch University, where he led cutting-edge work in Cellular Agriculture Biobanking.
Additionally, he initiated the Save Magaliesberg Species Project in partnership with the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA (WESSA), and volunteers and students of the Tshwane University of Technology’s Department of Nature Conservation.
His impact will undoubtedly resonate for generations to come. As the EWT eloquently puts:
“Paul worked for the Endangered Wildlife Trust for more than a decade, and the loss of this visionary leader in biotech and wildlife conservation deeply saddens us.
“We are, however, eternally grateful for the legacy he leaves in the form of cutting-edge science, dozens of empowered and highly trained scientists, an African wildlife biobank and leading science that can be used to save wildlife, support ethically and sustainably food security and secure the genetic diversity and future of dozens of threatened Africa wildlife species.”
Sources: Supplied
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