As time moves on, society finds itself adapting to so many different technological and societal changes that were once unimaginable. Just when we thought that we couldn’t be surprised by anything else that comes our way, the University of Guelph proved us wrong.
We are so thrilled to announce that last month, the University of Guelph’s world-renowned Ontario Veterinary School were successful in cloning the first-ever live gryphon. The OVC has been working on this project for approximately ten years now, collaborating with the University of California Davis, which is the top-ranked Veterinary Medicine school in the States. After multiple failed attempts, the OVC was able to use the DNA of both a lion and an eagle to bring the gryphon to life.
The gryphon’s name is Griffon. He is only a couple of weeks old and was first exhibited to the public during the University’s College Royal weekend, which took place on March 17 and 18. Griffon is currently being monitored closely by multiple OVC scientists and veterinary specialists. In this fragile beginning stage of life, the OVC has been carefully experimenting the foods that would be best to ensure a healthy diet for the newborn gryphon. In these first few weeks, the college has found pureed fruits and vegetables to be working well, along with an unexpected desire for ground horse meet.
Gryphon Football had the opportunity to speak with Doctor Cannon from the Ontario Veterinary College, who has been working closely on this project throughout the past ten years. When asked about their accomplishments, Dr. Cannon was thrilled stating that “there’s no better feeling than seeing a project you have worked so long on come to life. I am so excited to watch baby Griffon grow, and to be a part of such an amazing milestone here at the University of Guelph. I look forward to continuing to expand on this discovery in the future.”
Baby Griffon is being closed off to the public until he has matured further, however, Dr. Cannon said that Griffon will be publicly revealed at the Gryphon Football Homecoming game on September 22nd, where the hope is to have him fly around the stadium before kickoff.
Today’s date is April 1st, 2018.