The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has recently announced the successful cloning of two additional black-footed ferrets, as part of their ongoing efforts to protect and preserve this endangered species.
Antonia and Noreen, the ferrets, were created by breeding using frozen tissue samples obtained in 1988 from a black-footed ferret that resided at San Diego’s Zoo. These cells, which belonged to a ferret named Willa, were subsequently injected into the egg of a domesticated ferret.
Somatic cell cloning, also known as the process of creating genetically identical organisms, has been successfully employed in the past. Notably, ferret cloning was achieved in both 2023 and 2021, while the famous Dolly the sheep was cloned using a similar technique in 1996.
How does this process work?
Scientists extract DNA tissue from a donor cell and subsequently substitute the existing DNA in an egg cell. After this procedure, the scientists transfer the modified egg cell into a surrogate animal of the same species. The egg then undergoes normal gestation, and upon the surrogate giving birth, the cloned animal is an exact genetic replica of the original animal it was cloned from.
The black-footed ferret, recognized by its black markings on its tail, feet, and eyes, has been classified as endangered by the USFWS since the 1960s. Factors such as agricultural expansion, the decline of prairie dogs, and other reasons have caused a significant decrease in the ferret population, which was estimated to be between 500,000 to 1 million in the 1800s.
In 1979, the black-footed ferret was believed to be extinct after the last one died in captivity. However, in 1981, a small group of ferrets was found by a Wyoming rancher. Conservationists took action by capturing the wild ferrets and starting the Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Program, breeding them in captivity to help their population grow. Willa was one of the first ferrets to be captured, but unfortunately, she did not have any offspring. Scientists saved her genes and tissue samples by freezing them at the Frozen Zoo in San Diego, California.
