On August 6, a horse named Kurt was born in Texas. The colt made history. Kurt is the first Przewalski’s horse to be successfully cloned.
In 1980, scientists at the San Diego Zoo, in California, took DNA from a Przewalski’s horse and froze it. DNA is the substance that determines the traits, or characteristics, of a living thing. Kurt was cloned from this DNA.
The scientists’ goal is to save the species. Przewalski’s horses, which come from Central Asia, are endangered.
The zoo worked with Revive & Restore, a wildlife conservation group. Ryan Phelan, that group’s executive director, says cloning “can save species” and the “genetic diversity that would have otherwise been lost to time.”
Kurt will live at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
Paired Text
More from Science
Share a Link
- Click the icon above to copy the url link to your clipboard.
- Paste the link into the location in which you share assignments with students. Examples might include, but are not limited to Canvas, Schoology and Edmodo.
Google Classroom
- Click on the icon above to share the article with a class in your Google Classroom.
- Choose an action. Options might include creating an assignment or asking a question.
