Incredible photos: for the first time in the world, a cloned ferret gave birth to cubs

/Smithsonian's NZCBI

A female cloned rare black-footed ferret has given birth to three cubs. These are the first offspring of cloned individuals of this species in history.

This is reported by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Antonia the ferret was cloned in April from genetic material that was stored since 1988. After mating, she gave birth to three cubs. One of them died immediately after birth, two more survived and turned out to be healthy.

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Genetic analysis showed that the ancestors of modern ferrets had much more genetic variation. This diversity has decreased over time, which can negatively affect the survival of the species. Scientists are considering cloning as a potential method for restoring genetic diversity. alt=”Incredible photos: for the first time in the world, a cloned ferret gave birth to cubs” />

Newborn ferrets/US Fish and Wildlife Service

One of the most famous scientific experiments in the world is the cloning of Dolly the sheep, which was carried out in 1996 by geneticist Jan Wilmuth. Prior to this, a sheep was cloned from embryonic cells.

Dolly was the first individual to be created from a cultured mammary cell. The animal lived for more than six years and gave birth to six lambs.