On Nov. 1, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and conservation partners announced the first-ever birth of black-footed ferrets produced by a cloned endangered animal. This historic event took place at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia.

Antonia, a cloned black-footed ferret, has successfully given birth to two healthy offspring after mating with Urchin, a 3-year-old male black-footed ferret at Smithsonian’s NZCBI. This marks the first time a cloned U.S. endangered species has produced offspring. Antonia and her kits will remain at the facility for further research, with no current plans to release them into the wild.

Antonia was cloned from tissue samples collected in 1988 from a black-footed ferret named Willa, whose genetic material was preserved at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s Frozen Zoo. This technology has been pioneered by partners at Revive & Restore and ViaGen Pets & Equine. Willa’s samples contain three times the genetic diversity seen in the current population of black-footed ferrets, all of which (except the three clones and new offspring) are descended from just seven surviving individuals.