World's first cloned arctic wolf meets public in Harbin

(ECNS) -- A cloned arctic wolf met the public at Harbin Polarland in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Wednesday.

Its donor cell came from skin samples of a wild arctic wolf named Maya, who had been introduced from Canada to Harbin Polarland in 2006. Its oocyte was from a female dog in estrus and its surrogate mother was a beagle.

The wolf pup is dynamic and in very good health, living with its surrogate mother at Harbin Polarland.

The healthy birth of the world's first cloned arctic wolf is a major breakthrough in the protection and breeding of endangered animals. Cloning technology can also improve gene diversity and species population size.