Miracle: Clone Of Endangered Colorado Species Gives Birth

Here in Colorado, we have made plenty of different discoveries when it comes to animals, both extinct and living.

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For example, paleontologists in Colorado recently discovered a new species of mammal that lived in Colorado when it was a swamp. That’s approximately 70 to 75 million years ago. 

Also, a professor from Colorado State University found the remains of a brand new dinosaur that lived 78 million years ago.

Given how completely different these two animals are, it’s hard to believe they easily could have been living at the exact same time.

However, Colorado also has plenty of endangered species currently living that call this place home.

As it would turn out, one species that has become incredibly endangered in the wild could see a major resurgence thanks to the miracles of modern science.

Cloned Black-Footed Ferret Gives Birth To Two Babies

In truly one of the most unbelievable and downright amazing stories in the state’s history, a Colorado recovery program has not only cloned the endangered black-footed ferret, but one of them has given birth. 

For context, the black-footed ferret used to be a common sight in the Western United States, but due to the fur trade and disease, their numbers dwindled so low that they were thought to be entirely extinct in the wild by the 1980s. 

According to the Colorado Sun, they were rediscovered in Wyoming after a dog dropped a dead one on its owner’s doorstep. They then found a small community of 24 ferrets, the last of their kind.

Since then, organizations like Revive and Recovery have bred these animals to increase their numbers in the wild.

However, there’s a program in Wellington, Colorado called National Black-footed Ferret Recovery Program that has been at the forefront of cloning these animals.

In 2020, the program that is overseen by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was able to produce three different clones of a ferret that died in 1988 called Willa.

It was the first time an endangered species from the United States was cloned. 

In a groundbreaking moment, one of the clones, named Antonia, gave birth to two baby ferrets, named Sibert and Red Cloud. The Colorado native did so at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia. 

Not only is just the cloning alone incredible, but this is the first time a cloned U.S. species has given birth. 

Truly, the amount of opportunities this opens for reintroducing endangered species back into their environment is massive, and everyone involved should be thrilled with their achievements.