CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Scientists have cloned the first U.S. endangered species, a black-footed ferret duplicated from the genes of an animal that died over 30 years ago.
The slinky predator named Elizabeth Ann was born in a Colorado facility Dec. 10 and announced Thursday. Elizabeth Ann is a genetic copy of a ferret named Willa who died in 1988 and whose remains were frozen in the early days of DNA technology.
The technique holds promise for boosting endangered species including a cloned Mongolian wild horse born at a Texas facility last summer.
Viagen, a company that clones horses and pet dogs and cats, cloned both animals.
