Dolly Had Three Little Lambs

E D I N B U R G H,   Scotland,   April 1 -- Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, has given birth to healthy triplets conceived the old-fashioned way.

Dolly gave birth to two males and one female lamb Wednesday, and “we are delighted,” said Harry Griffin, assistant director of the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh.

It was a second pregnancy for Dolly, who gave birth to a single lamb, Bonnie, last spring. All four lambs have the same father, a Welsh mountain ram named David.

“Dolly and her lambs are in good health. The births were unassisted and all three are suckling well,” the institute announced. “The birth of Bonnie almost exactly 12 months ago confirmed that despite Dolly’s unusual origins, she is able to breed normally and produce healthy offspring. The birth of these three lambs is a further demonstration of this.”

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The institute said it does not plan to name the triplets.

Griffin said this birth was not nearly as newsworthy as Bonnie’s, but that the institute decided to announce it because “it’s a nice story at Easter — a pleasant one, when there’s a lot less pleasant news around.”

Dolly was born at the institute in July 1996 after scientists cloned her from a cell from another sheep’s udder. She was named after the singer Dolly Parton.

Her creators say it is important to breed from cloned animals to check for any unexpected changes in their offspring.

The institute says no defects have so far been detected in Bonnie, which it called a “perfectly healthy” animal.