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Cloned Weasel Successfully Had Two Babies and Could Save Their Entire Species

Harry November 13, 2024

For the first time, a clone of a black-footed ferret has been successfully produced.
Antonia, a clone created from the DNA of a ferret that died in 1988, gave birth to two healthy kits.
The black-footed ferret is an endangered species, with only about 370 surviving in the wild.

“Saving rare species from extinction requires extraordinary measures.”

that’s how World Wildlife Fund begins its introduction on the endangered black-footed ferret. Species, scientific name Mustela niggaswas once thought to be completely extinctuntil it was rediscovered in Wyoming in 1981.

Since then, efforts have been made to pull the species back from the brink of extinction, from captive breeding and habitat conservation to an approach once considered science fiction: cloning. And now, futuristic as it may seem, the second approach looks more feasible than ever.

Like PopMech does previously reportedIn December 2020, the world was introduced to a black-footed ferret named Elizabeth Ann. The circumstances of Elizabeth Ann’s birth were unique: Unlike being conceived as part of a typical captive breeding program, Elizabeth Ann was cloned from the cells of donor ferret Willa, who died in 1988.

Willa’s DNA was also used to produce Two more clones named Noreen and Antonia. But Willa’s DNA samples “contain three times the genetic diversity seen in the current black-footed ferret population,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Cloning alone is not enough if they tried to incorporate this genetic diversity into this limited population (WWF estimates there are currently only 370 black-footed ferrets in the wild).

Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

That’s what makes the USFWS’s latest announcement so important: One of Willa’s clones has given birth to new black-footed ferret kits for the first time. Specifically, the aforementioned Antonia, who gave birth to three pups after mating with Urchin, a 3-year-old male black-footed ferret at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Institute of Conservation Biology.

While one of the cubs, named Kit, passed away shortly after birth, the other two cubs, a male and a female, “are in good health and meeting developmental milestones under the care of NZCBI carnivore keepers.” Press release From USFWS.

“The successful breeding and subsequent emergence of Antonia’s kits, protecting endangered speciesPaul Marinari, senior curator at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, stated in the press release. “The many partners of the Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Program continue their innovative and inspiring efforts to save this species and serve as a model for other conservation programs around the world.”