Washington-SANA
The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that scientists have successfully cloned the endangered black-footed ferret for the first time.
According to the British newspaper Daily Mail, the process of cloning the animal, which was called "Elizabeth", was made using the frozen genes of an animal of the same type that died more than 30 years ago, as the cloning process culminated in the birth of two copies, one of which died and the second copy remained.
The scientists considered that this process of cloning is something of a medical miracle and represents a renewed hope for its kind now, as all black-footed rodents descend from the same seven individuals, leading to a dangerously low level of genetic diversity.
"Biotechnology and genomic data can be important in efforts to protect the environment," said Ben Novak, chief expert of the non-profit organization "Revive Wrester" for environmental protection.
The black-footed ferret is 61 cm long and is considered a nocturnal carnivore, as it feeds on other small mammals, including mice and ground squirrels, and sometimes eats birds, eggs and reptiles.
Scientists include other animals in the list of animals that need to be reproduced, such as the Mongolian wild horse and the extinct migratory pigeon.