Wanted: virile but gentle mate for the world’s first cloned black-footed ferret

A successful pregnancy for Elizabeth Ann may help ensure her species avoids extinction

Elizabeth Ann is poised to make history. The world's first cloned black-footed ferret has just celebrated her first birthday and has reached an age when she can start to breed. And, if she is successful and produces healthy kits, the little predator will give a precious boost to attempts to save her seriously endangered species.

However, scientists acknowledge that they will have to be extremely careful in screening possible mates for Elizabeth Ann, who is being kept at a conservation centre near Fort Collins, Colorado. In particular, the male they eventually select will have to display one key quality, they say: he will have to be gentle.