Black-footed ferrets Sibert and Red Cloud at 6 weeks old

Shutterstock.com (background); Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (Sibert and Red Cloud); Illustrations by Brown Bird Design

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The Future of Ferrets

Two black-footed ferret babies provide hope for one of the most endangered species in the U.S.

January 20, 2025
By Talia Cowen

As You Read, Think About: How can cloning help save an endangered species?

Sibert and Red Cloud look like most black-footed ferrets. They have dark rings around their eyes, beige fur, and, you guessed it, black feet. But the siblings are unlike any other ferrets. They’re the first black-footed ferrets born to a clone. 

They were born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia last June. Their mother, Antonia, is a copy of a black-footed ferret that died in 1988. Like identical twins, cloned animals have the same DNA. This material in cells determines traits that are passed down from parents. DNA decides traits like the color of your eyes.

Antonia is one of three black-footed ferret clones born in recent years.   

“We’ve done something earth-shattering for conservation,” says scientist Ben Novak. He works for Revive & Restore. The organization has worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other groups on the ferret cloning project.

Sibert and Red Cloud look like most black-footed ferrets. They have dark rings around their eyes, beige fur, and black feet. But the siblings aren’t like any other ferrets. They’re the first black-footed ferrets born to a clone. 

They were born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia last June. Their mother, Antonia, is a copy of a black-footed ferret that died in 1988. Like identical twins, cloned animals have the same DNA. DNA is found in cells. It determines traits that are passed down from parents. DNA determines traits like the color of your eyes. 

Antonia is one of three black-footed ferret clones born in recent years.   

“We’ve done something earth-shattering for conservation,” says scientist Ben Novak. He works for Revive & Restore. The organization has worked on the ferret cloning project. For the project, it partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other groups. 

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Black-footed ferrets Sibert and Red Cloud at 6 weeks old

Prairie Problems

Long ago, millions of black-footed ferrets lived in the Great Plains. They spent their days hunting for their favorite food, rodents called prairie dogs. 

Prairie dogs dug underground homes called burrows in fields for growing crops. Starting in the 1800s, many farmers poisoned the rodents. That left ferrets without enough food. Ferrets also faced threats like habitat loss and disease. 

By 1979, black-footed ferrets were thought to be extinct. But conservationists discovered more than 100 of these ferrets in Wyoming in 1981. Scientists used some of them to start a breeding program to help the species recover.

Long ago, there were millions of black-footed ferrets. They lived in the Great Plains. There, they hunted for their favorite food, rodents called prairie dogs.

Prairie dogs dug underground homes called burrows. They dug in fields for growing crops. Starting in the 1800s, many farmers poisoned the rodents. That left ferrets without enough food. Ferrets also faced other threats. These included habitat loss and disease.

By 1979, black-footed ferrets seemed to be extinct. But conservationists discovered more than 100 of them in Wyoming in 1981. Scientists used some of them to start a breeding program. They wanted to help the species recover.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Antonia

Creating Clones

Today there are more than 600 black-footed ferrets in the U.S. But the species is still at risk. Nearly all black-footed ferrets alive today come from just seven ferrets bred in the 1980s. They’re first cousins or closer. Babies of closely related parents are likely to have health problems. 

To keep the species healthy, scientists needed to introduce new DNA into the ferret population. In 1988, they froze cells from a ferret that wasn’t closely related to any ferrets alive at the time. In 2020, scientists used that ferret’s DNA to create the first black-footed ferret clone, Elizabeth Ann. Two new clones, Antonia and Noreen, were born less than three years later.

Today there are more than 600 black-footed ferrets in the U.S. But the species is still at risk. Most black-footed ferrets today come from seven ferrets that were bred in the 1980s. They’re first cousins or closer. Babies of closely related parents tend to have health problems.

Scientists needed to introduce new DNA into the ferret population. This would keep the species healthy. Back in 1988, they froze cells from a ferret that wasn’t closely related to other ferrets alive at the time. In 2020, scientists used that ferret’s DNA to create the first black-footed ferret clone, Elizabeth Ann. Two new clones, Antonia and Noreen, were born in 2023.

Revive & Restore

Ben Novak holds ferret clone Elizabeth Ann when she was three weeks old.

Future Ferrets

Now Antonia’s babies give scientists new hope. The babies born to clones could help breed future generations of ferrets.   

For now, scientists are closely watching Sibert and Red Cloud. Novak says their future, and the future of the species, is bright.

“It’s a hugely rewarding moment,” he says. “It’s the first real proof that cloning can be used to help conservation.”

Antonia’s babies give scientists new hope. The babies born to clones could help the species. They can do this by breeding future generations of ferrets.   

For now, scientists are watching Sibert and Red Cloud. Novak says their future is bright. So is the future of the species. 

“It’s a hugely rewarding moment,” he says. “It’s the first real proof that cloning can be used to help conservation.”

How to Clone a Ferret

Here’s how scientists cloned a ferret that lived more than 35 years ago.

Here’s how scientists cloned a ferret that lived more than 35 years ago.

1. In 1988, scientists took skin cells from a black-footed ferret named Willa after she died. Then they froze the cells.

1. In 1988, scientists took skin cells from a black-footed ferret named Willa after she died. Then they froze the cells.

2. Decades later, scientists removed egg cells from a living female ferret.

2. Decades later, scientists removed egg cells from a living female ferret.

3. Scientists used a needle to remove the DNA from those egg cells. They inserted DNA from Willa’s frozen cells into the empty egg cells.

3. Scientists used a needle to remove the DNA from those egg cells. They inserted DNA from Willa’s frozen cells into the empty egg cells.

4. In a lab, one of these egg cells grew into an embryo (an animal’s first stage of development). The embryo was placed inside a female ferret.

4. In a lab, one of these egg cells grew into an embryo (an animal’s first stage of development). The embryo was placed inside a female ferret.

5. About two months later, she gave birth to a baby ferret, or kit. The kit is a copy of Willa. Three clones have been born this way so far.

5. About two months later, she gave birth to a baby ferret, or kit. The kit is a copy of Willa. Three clones have been born this way so far.

  1. Based on the article, what is DNA and what does it do?
  2. Summarize the main ideas of the section “Prairie Problems.”
  3. Why do some scientists believe cloning black-footed ferrets can help keep the species healthy?
  1. Based on the article, what is DNA and what does it do?
  2. Summarize the main ideas of the section “Prairie Problems.”
  3. Why do some scientists believe cloning black-footed ferrets can help keep the species healthy?
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