These Ferrets Are a Marvel in More Ways Than One

With only 370 black-footed ferrets believed to exist in the wild, the birth of two kits would be thrilling regardless. But these babies represent a deeper level of hope: They were born to a cloned black-footed ferret, and as NPR reports, it marks the first time a US clone of an endangered species has successfully produced offspring.

A press release from the US Fish and Wildlife Service explains mom Antonia was cloned using tissue samples taken in 1988 from a black-footed ferret named Willa, whose genetic material was preserved in the Frozen Zoo at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Antonia mated with Urchin, a 3-year-old male black-footed ferret at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. She gave birth to three kits but one died shortly after birth. The surviving kits, a male and female, appear to be in good health.

As the release explains, "Willa's samples contain three times the genetic diversity seen in the current population of black-footed ferrets, all of which (except the three clones and new offspring) are descended from just seven surviving individuals. Introducing these previously unrepresented genes could play a key role in increasing the species' genetic diversity, vital to healthy, long-term recovery." The release hails the births as a "landmark in conservation genetic research, proving that cloning technology can not only help restore genetic diversity but also allow for future breeding, opening new possibilities for species recovery." (More endangered species stories.)