The successful birth of Antonia's kits marks a major milestone in endangered species conservation, restoring genetic diversity needed for the survival of the black-footed ferret.
With an estimated 370 black-footed ferrets left in the wild, conservation efforts are crucial, especially considering their numbers were thought to be extinct in the early '80s.
Antonia, a black-footed ferret cloned from a genetic sample collected in 1988, has demonstrated that cloning can play a key role in revitalizing endangered populations.
The genetic material from Willa, which contained three times the genetic diversity of the current population, has provided a rare opportunity to enhance the recovery of black-footed ferrets.
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