A Ferret is the First North American Endangered Animal to be Cloned
A ferret is the first North American endangered animal to be cloned:
Animal cloning might just become a valuable tool in preserving species that might otherwise go extinct. BBC News says US Fish and Wildlife Service has successfully cloned a black-footed ferret - the first genetic copy of a North American endangered species. Elizabeth Ann, born on December 10th, was produced from the frozen cells of Willa, a ferret that lived over 30 years ago. A team at ViaGen Pets & Equine created embryos and implanted them in a domestic ferret surrogate.
The black-footed ferret is North America's only native ferret, and was thought to have gone extinct until a Wyoming rancher found a small group of them in 1981. They've since been part of a captive breeding program.
A short video and some pics of Elizabeth Anne are available on twitter.
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