“In a victory for conservation, a cloned endangered animal has birthed healthy offspring for the first time in the United States. The black-footed ferret, named Antonia, is also the first cloned ferret to give birth worldwide.

Antonia produced two adorable kits at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia, earlier this summer. The news marks a groundbreaking achievement in the use of cloning to preserve genetic diversity in endangered species.”

From Smithsonian Magazine.