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Cloning, a concept that has captured the public's imagination from Star Wars to Jurassic Park, has long been a part of science fiction. Yet, it has now moved beyond fiction and entered the realm of reality. While Dolly the sheep is often regarded as the most famous cloned animal, scientists have since succeeded in cloning many more remarkable species, for various purposes. Here are ten astonishing animals that have been successfully cloned.
10. Cats
In 2001, just a few years after Dolly, scientists achieved a milestone in pet cloning. At Texas A&M, a team of biomedical experts cloned the first-ever pet cat, named C.C. They took cells from a cat named Rainbow, applied an electric charge, grew the cells in a Petri dish, and then implanted them into a surrogate mother. The resulting kitten, C.C., was a genetic twin of Rainbow, although her coat pattern and personality differed. She lived a full life, surviving until 2020 at 18 years old.
Following the success of pet cloning over two decades ago, the industry has flourished. A contributing factor has been the rise of pet influencers on social media. For instance, when a cat with 85,000 Instagram followers tragically passed away in 2017, its owner sent skin cells to a pet cloning company. Four years later, the owner received a genetically identical clone. The company claims that cloned pets are essentially identical twins of the original animal.
9. Dogs
In recent years, celebrities have jumped on the pet cloning bandwagon. In 2018, Barbara Streisand famously cloned her beloved dog, Sammie, twice. That same year, a pet influencer took the step of creating six clones of her Instagram-famous dog after it tragically passed away. The history of cloning dogs dates back to 2005 when a South Korean research team made history by successfully cloning a dog named Snuppy.
Snuppy was cloned using a single ear cell from an Afghan hound. Out of 1,095 eggs implanted in surrogate mothers, he was the only one to survive long-term, making him a significant scientific achievement at the time. Although other teams had struggled with the challenges of limited breeding periods and egg extraction difficulties, South Korea eventually overcame these obstacles, leading to the successful cloning of dogs for purposes like sniffing for drugs in airports.
8. Arctic Wolves
One of the promising uses of cloning technology is to help endangered species thrive. In 2022, scientists in Beijing made a breakthrough by successfully cloning the first Arctic wolf. Maya, a grey-brown wolf pup, is a member of the species native to northern Canada. She was created using the same cloning technique that produced Dolly the sheep in 1996—the first-ever cloned mammal.
Out of 85 cells implanted into surrogate mothers, Maya was the only one to survive. While her species isn't currently at high risk of extinction, climate change poses a serious threat to their food supply. Additionally, human development, such as roads and pipelines, is increasingly encroaching on the wolves' natural habitats.
7. Black-Footed Ferrets
In 2021, the first-ever endangered U.S. animal was successfully cloned. The black-footed ferret population in North America had dwindled so drastically that in 1979, it was officially declared extinct. However, in 1981, a small group was discovered on a farmer's land, prompting a breeding program. Despite these efforts, the species has remained on the brink of extinction.
The breeding program struggled due to the very limited population, making it difficult to ensure genetic diversity. Elizabeth Ann, the cloned ferret, was created from cells of a black-footed ferret that had lived 30 years prior. Scientists hope she will pave the way for more clones that can help increase genetic diversity in this endangered species. Without diversity, animals become more vulnerable to diseases and genetic issues.
6. Bantengs
In 2003, the first ever clone of an endangered species, the banteng, a wild cow native to Java, was born. This was made possible by using frozen tissue from a banteng that had died over 20 years prior. Despite 16 surrogate pregnancies, only two banteng calves were born, though the others did not survive. Nevertheless, this success marked a significant improvement over earlier efforts in 2001 to clone the endangered gaur, an Asian ox. The gaur clone was born, but tragically died just two days later.
While some scientists expressed concerns about the health and longevity of clones, with some dying earlier than their naturally born counterparts, the researchers behind the banteng project emphasized the importance of genetic diversity in the endangered banteng population. If the clones can produce healthy offspring, this project could ultimately help sustain the species.
Przewalski’s Horses
Przewalski’s horses, often considered the last truly wild horses, were declared extinct in the wild by 2020. However, a small population still exists in zoos and reserves. Their numbers dwindled so severely that the remaining horses shared common ancestors, lacking genetic variety. Fortunately, the Frozen Zoo in San Diego stored cells from a Przewalski’s horse that lived four decades ago, among their collection of 1,100 species.
These cells contained DNA that was scarce in the remaining population. By merging the cells with a surrogate mother's egg and removing its nucleus, scientists successfully created the first clone of the species, named Kurt. Born in Texas in August 2020, Kurt is expected to play a vital role in efforts to eventually reintroduce Przewalski’s horses into the wild when he reaches breeding age.
Pyrenean Ibex
Some clones have been created from cells that were frozen for many years, offering the possibility of bringing back species that have gone extinct after their cells were collected and preserved. This happened once in 2009 with the Pyrenean ibex, also called the bucardo. This subspecies of Spanish ibex had been hunted nearly to extinction during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The last known Pyrenean ibex died in 2000 after being struck by a falling branch, but not before its skin cells were preserved. These cells were used to create 208 embryos, which were implanted into surrogate Spanish ibexes and goat-ibex hybrids. Unfortunately, only one clone was born, but it suffered from severe lung issues and passed away from respiratory failure just minutes after birth.
Scientists noted that abnormalities are common in cloning and often occur when DNA is transferred between cells. They also cautioned against the idea of soon cloning long-extinct species like the woolly mammoth, as current cloning techniques require a surrogate that is closely related to the species being cloned.
Monkeys
In 2000, the world saw the birth of the first cloned monkey, marking a significant milestone in cloning technology. This achievement came just four years after the cloning of Dolly the sheep. However, the method used for Tetra, the cloned monkey, was different from Dolly's. Instead of the somatic cell nuclear transfer method, Tetra was created by embryo splitting, where an embryo is divided into four parts, mimicking the natural process that produces twins, triplets, and quadruplets. This success sparked ethical debates, particularly around the potential for cloning humans.
Embryo splitting can lead to the birth of multiple genetically identical clones at the same time, making them ideal subjects for controlled experiments. Since primates are closely related to humans, they hold great potential for studying human diseases and developing life-saving treatments more rapidly. However, many people oppose using animals, particularly highly aware ones like monkeys, for the sole purpose of experimentation.
Camels
Cloning wasn't just a trend in Asia and the West in the 21st century; the Middle East also saw success in cloning mammals. In 2009, a female one-humped camel named Injaz was cloned in the United Arab Emirates. She was genetically identical to a camel that had passed away four years earlier. Researchers were optimistic that this breakthrough would help preserve the genes of prized racing and milk-producing camels. Little did they know, by 2023, this would become their full-time focus.
The growing demand for camel clones is fueled by a surprising factor—camel beauty pageants. These competitions are so popular in the Gulf states that the prizes can reach millions of dollars. Cloning winning camels has become a lucrative business, alongside the cloning of racers and pets. Scientists are also using their cloning techniques to help conserve endangered species, such as the wild two-humped Bactrian camels.
Cows are one of the most successfully cloned mammals, and cloning continues to be carried out for various purposes. By 2003, cows had already been cloned and genetically modified to produce milk containing proteins needed for pharmaceutical production. The cheese-making industry also recognized the potential of genetically modified cow clones.
In 2003, New Zealand scientists successfully created cow clones with higher-protein milk, which aided the cheese-making process. This was accomplished by inserting additional genes for two specific milk proteins into the cow cells before implanting them into surrogate mothers. Argentine researchers used a similar approach in 2011, creating Rosita ISA, a cloned cow that produced human-like milk. Their goal was to enhance the nutritional and antibacterial properties of cow's milk.
Scientists in New Zealand engineered cloned cows in 2003 to produce milk rich in higher protein content, speeding up the cheese-making process. This technique involved inserting extra genes into the cows' cells before implantation into surrogate mothers. Similarly, Argentine scientists in 2011 cloned Rosita ISA, a cow that generated milk similar to human milk, aiming to boost its nutritional value and antibacterial properties.
