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."