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.