Cloned black-footed ferret gives birth in ‘major milestone’ for conservationists

Antonia the ferret becomes first cloned animal of an endangered species to successfully produce offspring in US

A cloned black-footed ferret has given birth, becoming the first ever cloned animal of an endangered species in the US to successfully produce offspring in what officials recently hailed as a “major milestone”.

In an announcement at the beginning of November, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said that that a cloned black-footed ferret named Antonia gave birth to three kits in June after mating with a three-year-old male black-footed ferret at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia.