In 1979, the black-footed ferret was believed to be extinct. More than forty years later, scientists in the US have not only cloned the species from the last wild survivors, but one of those clones has now given birth to two healthy pups: one male and one female.
The new mother, named Antonia, was cloned from a black-footed ferret named Willa who died in 1988 at the San Diego Zoo. That year, conservationists in the US began a captive breeding program, using just 18 black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), wild-caught from a small, inbred population still living in Wyoming in 1981.
Today, after numerous reintroductions, approximately 350 black-footed ferrets remain in the wild, and these animals suffer from low genetic diversity, disease, habitat loss and decline of the species’ main prey, the prairie dogs.
Some experts argue that the future of the species now depends on captive breeding and cloning.
For example, Antonia was cloned from a tissue sample that contained three times as many unique genetic variations as the average black-footed ferret currently living in the wild.
“The introduction of these previously unrepresented genes could play a key role in increasing the genetic diversity of the species, which is essential for a healthy long-term recovery,” according to a news release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ( FWS).
“The successful reproduction of a cloned endangered species is a milestone in conservation genetic research, proving that cloning technology can not only help restore genetic diversity, but also enable future reproduction, opening new possibilities for the recovery of species.”
This feat was accomplished by a team of researchers and conservationists at the FWS, the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI), Revive & Restore (a nonprofit wildlife organization), San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, ViaGen Pets & Equine (a pet cloning and genetic conservation group) and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Now that the reproduction part is taken care of, the reintroduction challenges begin. Whether conservation cloning can actually contribute to the recovery of endangered species in the wild remains highly controversial.
The cloning of Antonia and the birth of her offspring are the result of decades of expensive work and several failed attempts. Some scientists argue that this time and money could have been better spent preserving habitats or rewilding places that provide shelter for more than just one species.
Habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict pose the greatest threat to most endangered terrestrial species worldwide, and black-footed ferrets are no exception, having lost much of their shortgrass prairie to agriculture.
If the habitat is no longer there, cloning extinct or critically endangered animals such as the passenger pigeon, the thylacine, Przewalski’s horse or the woolly mammoth will be a waste, argues wildlife ecologist David Jachowski in a 2022 article. Life sciences.
“In the fog of excitement surrounding this new instrument, we must remain deeply focused on addressing the issues that are causing most species to become endangered or extinct in the first place,” Jachowski wrote.
“What is clear is that cloning alone cannot save endangered species… Only if we restore and secure adequate habitats and reduce the risk of human-wildlife conflict will these species ever be found in the wild.”
Whether any of Antonia’s descendants will survive in the wild is unknown.
