These two ferret babies are the first ever born from a clone

They are very cute puppies, but they are not like all the others. These two black-footed ferrets Mustela nigripes I’m there offspring of a cloned specimen, the first ever in the United States for this endangered species, included in a genetic research program.

Born into the world in the summer in an enclosure at the zoo Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI), in Virginia, the two black-footed ferrets are a male and a female and are in good health. A third little one didn’t make it and died shortly after birth.

Their mother, Antonia, has a story like few others. She was cloned using tissue samples collected from a black-footed ferret named Willa in the year 1988 and stored at the Frozen Zoo from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Having mated with a 3-year-old male named Urchin, she successfully reproduced in the zoo.

An endangered species

The birth of these two ferrets was celebrated as a milestone in the restoration of a species and its declining population. But why? The answer lies in mother Antonia, who has an incredible genetic heritage. The Willa ferret from which she was cloned had three times the genetic diversity seen in the current population of black-footed ferrets.

Except for her and two other clones Elizabeth Ann and Noreen, all the other ferrets are descended from the last 7 surviving specimens. This is why cloning can represent, as experts have underlined, an innovative tool for conservation efforts of a species on the brink of extinction, even if those efforts happened in the lab.

While cloning endangered animals can be a successful strategy for restoring a healthy population, ethical principles and factual data must be taken into consideration. To what extent is it right to create copies of animals that have become extinct or are becoming extinct due to threats of anthropic origin and beyond?

How, then, do we intend to carry forward the conservation and protection of the black-footed ferret? The Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute makes no secret about what awaits mother Antonia and her little ones.

In a press release, the institute states that “Antonia and her cubs will remain at the facility for further research, with no plans to release them into the wild.” Unless direction changes, this family will never see the habitat in which the species should thrive again.