Cloned Endangered Ferret Gives Birth to Healthy Offspring

"This project represents a historic milestone in conservation history."

Hey There Antonia

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that a cloned black-footed ferret just produced the first-ever offspring of a cloned endangered species in the US, in a "groundbreaking achievement in endangered species research."

The cloned ferret, called Antonia, gave birth to two healthy offspring at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Virginia after mating with a 3-year-old male that was born naturally.

Earlier this year, Antonia was cloned from tissue samples preserved at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance's Frozen Zoo back in 1988, an astonishing 35 years ago.

Now, scientists with the USFWS' Black-footed Ferret Recovery Program have followed up the remarkable effort, continuing the genetic lineage of a species that has come to depend on an extremely shallow gene pool derived from just seven individual ferret ancestors.

That means the black-footed ferret is extremely vulnerable, especially in the face of climate change. But with a new lineage, the species stands a fresh chance of continuing its legacy.

Ferreting Out

The tissue samples Antonia was cloned from contain three times the genetic diversity of the species' current population, according to the USFWS, which means its offspring could help deepen the species' genetic diversity greatly.

According to the regulator's estimates, there once were up to one million black-footed ferrets by the late 1800s. However, by the late 1950s, the species was presumed extinct due to agricultural expansion and the eradication of the prairie dog, which represents a whopping 90 percent of its diet.

But thanks to the most recent efforts to continue their lineage, the situation could soon change.

"This project represents a historic milestone in conservation history," said cloning partner Revive & Restore co-founder Ryan Phelan in a separate statement. "For the first time, we can definitively say that cloning contributed meaningful genetic variation back into a breeding population."

"As these kits move forward in the breeding program, the impact of this work will multiply, building a more robust and resilient population over time," he added.

More on the ferret: Scientists Clone Extremely Endangered Ferret