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Meet Noreen and Antonia, cloned ferrets who might help save their species

News Feed
Wednesday, April 17, 2024

They’re cute, they’re fuzzy — and they may just help bring their entire species back from the brink of extinction.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday the births last year of Noreen and Antonia, two baby ferrets cloned from cells frozen nearly four decades ago.The successful cloning of these adorable predators is a milestone in the effort to save the black-footed ferret, one of North America’s most endangered mammals. Once thought to be extinct, today’s wild ferret population descends from just seven individuals, representing a severe lack of genetic diversity that threatens the long-term survival of the species.Now with these two new black-masked balls of fuzz added to the mix, conservationists hope to begin breeding the two females later this year to inject some new blood into the population.“Genetic diversity is critical for resilience to environmental change,” said Megan Owen, vice president of conservation science at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, one of Fish and Wildlife’s partners in the cloning effort. “It’s basically the raw material of adaptive evolution.”With hundreds of thousands of plants and animals at risk of extinction, scientists and policymakers are increasingly turning to extraordinary technological means to rescue sea stars, songbirds and other species near the edge of oblivion.Up to a million black-footed ferrets once romped across the mountain basins and grasslands of a dozen states before farming, diseases such as the plague and the eradication of their prey, the prairie dog, caused their numbers to plummet. In 1979, what was believed to be the last black-footed ferret died in captivity.Or so people thought. In 1981, a Wyoming cattle rancher stumbled upon a small group of black-footed ferrets. Brought into captivity, biologists began breeding them again but only had a handful of individuals with which to work.“Conservationists have worked very hard to bring them back,” said Ben Novak, lead scientist at the biotechnology nonprofit Revive & Restore, which also partnered with Fish and Wildlife on the cloning project. “They’re doing a very good job. But due to that historic bottleneck in the ’80s for black-footed ferrets, they just have an extremely limited gene pool.”One of the female ferrets, named Willa, didn’t leave any living descendants. So in 1988, scientists collected some of her cells and froze them at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, where the genetic material of some 1,200 species are kept on ice in its “Frozen Zoo.”The first of Willa’s clones was born in 2020. Initially, that ferret, named Elizabeth Ann, appeared healthy. But she never took interest in the suitors presented to her. “She didn’t like the males, and she didn’t even let them into her tunnel,” Novak said. “She bit one of them on the nose.”When her handlers tried to artificially inseminate her, there was another problem: part of her uterus was filled with fluid, requiring a hysterectomy. Elizabeth Ann is still alive and kicking, but can’t give birth. Agency officials don’t think her health problems are linked to cloning since the condition can occur in naturally born ferrets, too.Now Noreen and Antonia, both born last May, represent a second attempt at reviving Willa’s genetically distinct lineage. The cloned animals were made by injecting one of Willa’s cells into an egg from a domesticated ferret.Noreen was born at the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado while Antonia lives across the country at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia.While officials don’t plan to release the clones into the wild anytime soon, conservationists have reintroduced other black-footed ferrets across the Great Plains. But to sustain those populations, wildlife managers regularly apply insecticide to kill plague-carrying fleas and take other measures to control the deadly disease.Right now, Noreen and Antonia are feisty and appear healthy. As the pair near their first birthday in May, officials hope to start breeding them later this year.Owen has yet to meet either one. “I have not seen these two, but I can’t wait because they are incredibly cute.”

Two more black- footed ferrets, one of North America’s rarest mammals, have been cloned, federal officials announced Wednesday.

They’re cute, they’re fuzzy — and they may just help bring their entire species back from the brink of extinction.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday the births last year of Noreen and Antonia, two baby ferrets cloned from cells frozen nearly four decades ago.

The successful cloning of these adorable predators is a milestone in the effort to save the black-footed ferret, one of North America’s most endangered mammals. Once thought to be extinct, today’s wild ferret population descends from just seven individuals, representing a severe lack of genetic diversity that threatens the long-term survival of the species.

Now with these two new black-masked balls of fuzz added to the mix, conservationists hope to begin breeding the two females later this year to inject some new blood into the population.

“Genetic diversity is critical for resilience to environmental change,” said Megan Owen, vice president of conservation science at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, one of Fish and Wildlife’s partners in the cloning effort. “It’s basically the raw material of adaptive evolution.”

With hundreds of thousands of plants and animals at risk of extinction, scientists and policymakers are increasingly turning to extraordinary technological means to rescue sea stars, songbirds and other species near the edge of oblivion.

Up to a million black-footed ferrets once romped across the mountain basins and grasslands of a dozen states before farming, diseases such as the plague and the eradication of their prey, the prairie dog, caused their numbers to plummet. In 1979, what was believed to be the last black-footed ferret died in captivity.

Or so people thought. In 1981, a Wyoming cattle rancher stumbled upon a small group of black-footed ferrets. Brought into captivity, biologists began breeding them again but only had a handful of individuals with which to work.

“Conservationists have worked very hard to bring them back,” said Ben Novak, lead scientist at the biotechnology nonprofit Revive & Restore, which also partnered with Fish and Wildlife on the cloning project. “They’re doing a very good job. But due to that historic bottleneck in the ’80s for black-footed ferrets, they just have an extremely limited gene pool.”

One of the female ferrets, named Willa, didn’t leave any living descendants. So in 1988, scientists collected some of her cells and froze them at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, where the genetic material of some 1,200 species are kept on ice in its “Frozen Zoo.”

The first of Willa’s clones was born in 2020. Initially, that ferret, named Elizabeth Ann, appeared healthy. But she never took interest in the suitors presented to her. “She didn’t like the males, and she didn’t even let them into her tunnel,” Novak said. “She bit one of them on the nose.”

When her handlers tried to artificially inseminate her, there was another problem: part of her uterus was filled with fluid, requiring a hysterectomy. Elizabeth Ann is still alive and kicking, but can’t give birth. Agency officials don’t think her health problems are linked to cloning since the condition can occur in naturally born ferrets, too.

Now Noreen and Antonia, both born last May, represent a second attempt at reviving Willa’s genetically distinct lineage. The cloned animals were made by injecting one of Willa’s cells into an egg from a domesticated ferret.

Noreen was born at the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado while Antonia lives across the country at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia.

While officials don’t plan to release the clones into the wild anytime soon, conservationists have reintroduced other black-footed ferrets across the Great Plains. But to sustain those populations, wildlife managers regularly apply insecticide to kill plague-carrying fleas and take other measures to control the deadly disease.

Right now, Noreen and Antonia are feisty and appear healthy. As the pair near their first birthday in May, officials hope to start breeding them later this year.

Owen has yet to meet either one. “I have not seen these two, but I can’t wait because they are incredibly cute.”

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

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Hundreds of life-size animal puppets have begun a 20,000km (12,400 mile) journey from central Africa to the Arctic Circle as part of an ambitious project created by the team behind Little Amal, the giant puppet of a Syrian girl that travelled across the world.The public art initiative called The Herds, which has already visited Kinshasa and Lagos, will travel to 20 cities over four months to raise awareness of the climate crisis.It is the second major project from The Walk Productions, which introduced Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet, to the world in Gaziantep, near the Turkey-Syria border, in 2021. The award-winning project, co-founded by the Palestinian playwright and director Amir Nizar Zuabi, reached 2 million people in 17 countries as she travelled from Turkey to the UK.The Herds’ journey began in Kinshasa’s Botanical Gardens on 10 April, kicking off four days of events. It moved on to Lagos, Nigeria, the following week, where up to 5,000 people attended events performed by more than 60 puppeteers.On Friday the streets of Dakar in Senegal will be filled with more than 40 puppet zebras, wildebeest, monkeys, giraffes and baboons as they run through Médina, one of the busiest neighbourhoods, where they will encounter a creation by Fabrice Monteiro, a Belgium-born artist who lives in Senegal, and is known for his large-scale sculptures. On Saturday the puppets will be part of an event in the fishing village of Ngor.The Herds’ 20,000km journey began in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photograph: Berclaire/walk productionsThe first set of animal puppets was created by Ukwanda Puppetry and Designs Art Collective in Cape Town using recycled materials, but in each location local volunteers are taught how to make their own animals using prototypes provided by Ukwanda. The project has already attracted huge interest from people keen to get involved. In Dakar more than 300 artists applied for 80 roles as artists and puppet guides. About 2,000 people will be trained to make the puppets over the duration of the project.“The idea is that we’re migrating with an ever-evolving, growing group of animals,” Zuabi told the Guardian last year.Zuabi has spoken of The Herds as a continuation of Little Amal’s journey, which was inspired by refugees, who often cite climate disaster as a trigger for forced migration. The Herds will put the environmental emergency centre stage, and will encourage communities to launch their own events to discuss the significance of the project and get involved in climate activism.The puppets are created with recycled materials and local volunteers are taught how to make them in each location. Photograph: Ant Strack“The idea is to put in front of people that there is an emergency – not with scientific facts, but with emotions,” said The Herds’ Senegal producer, Sarah Desbois.She expects thousands of people to view the four events being staged over the weekend. “We don’t have a tradition of puppetry in Senegal. As soon as the project started, when people were shown pictures of the puppets, they were going crazy.”Little Amal, the puppet of a Syrian girl that has become a symbol of human rights, in Santiago, Chile on 3 January. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesGrowing as it moves, The Herds will make its way from Dakar to Morocco, then into Europe, including London and Paris, arriving in the Arctic Circle in early August.

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Dead, sick pelicans turning up along Oregon coast

So far, no signs of bird flu but wildlife officials continue to test the birds.

Sick and dead pelicans are turning up on Oregon’s coast and state wildlife officials say they don’t yet know why. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says it has collected several dead brown pelican carcasses for testing. Lab results from two pelicans found in Newport have come back negative for highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as bird flu, the agency said. Avian influenza was detected in Oregon last fall and earlier this year in both domestic animals and wildlife – but not brown pelicans. Additional test results are pending to determine if another disease or domoic acid toxicity caused by harmful algal blooms may be involved, officials said. In recent months, domoic acid toxicity has sickened or killed dozens of brown pelicans and numerous other wildlife in California. The sport harvest for razor clams is currently closed in Oregon – from Cascade Head to the California border – due to high levels of domoic acid detected last fall.Brown pelicans – easily recognized by their large size, massive bill and brownish plumage – breed in Southern California and migrate north along the Oregon coast in spring. Younger birds sometimes rest on the journey and may just be tired, not sick, officials said. If you find a sick, resting or dead pelican, leave it alone and keep dogs leashed and away from wildlife. State wildlife biologists along the coast are aware of the situation and the public doesn’t need to report sick, resting or dead pelicans. — Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com.

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50-Million-Year-Old Footprints Open a 'Rare Window' Into the Behaviors of Extinct Animals That Once Roamed in Oregon

Scientists revisited tracks made by a shorebird, a lizard, a cat-like predator and some sort of large herbivore at what is now John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

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The ant seller says theirs is a “landmark case in the field”. “People travelling to other countries specifically to collect ants and then returning with them is virtually unheard of,” he says.A formicarium at a pet shop in Singapore. Photograph: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty ImagesScientists have raised concerns that the burgeoning trade in exotic ants could pose a significant biodiversity risk. “Ants are traded as pets across the globe, but if introduced outside of their native ranges they could become invasive with dire environmental and economic consequences,” researchers conclude in a 2023 paper tracking the ant trade across China. “The most sought-after ants have higher invasive potential,” they write.Removing ants from their ecosystems could also be damaging. Illegal exportation “not only undermines Kenya’s sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits”, says KWS. Dino Martins, an entomologist and evolutionary biologist in Kenya, says harvester ants are among the most important insects on the African savannah, and any trade in them is bound to have negative consequences for the ecology of the grasslands.A Kenyan official arranges the containers of ants at the court. Photograph: Kenya Wildlife Service/AP“Harvester ants are seed collectors, and they gather [the seeds] as food for themselves, storing these in their nests. A single large harvester ant colony can collect several kilos of seeds of various grasses a year. 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Belgian Teenagers Found With 5,000 Ants to Be Sentenced in 2 Weeks

Two Belgian teenagers who were found with thousands of ants valued at $9,200 and allegedly destined for European and Asian markets will be sentenced in two weeks

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