Ferret Is 1st Clone Of U.S. Endangered Species

Scientists have cloned the first endangered species in the U.S., a black-footed ferret duplicated from the genes of an animal that died more than 30 years ago.

Elizabeth Ann was born December 10 and is being raised at a Fish and Wildlife facility in Fort Collins, Colorado.

She’s a genetic copy of a ferret named Willa who died in 1988 and whose remains were frozen in the early days of DNA technology.

Scientists say cloning could eventually bring back extinct species such as the passenger pigeon.