Fighting bull cloned for 1st time in Spain

[May 20, 2010]  MELGAR DE YUSO, Spain (AP) -- Scientists in Spain say they have cloned a fighting bull for the first time.

Vicente Torrent, a specialist in veterinary genetics, says the newborn calf, named Got, is an exact replica of a muscular, horned specimen of the type matadors face in bullrings.

The animal was unveiled Wednesday, a day after being born. It now weighs 24 kilograms (53 pounds).

Torrent says his 17-man team is hopeful Got will exhibit the same fierce traits that made his genetic predecessor, Vasito, such a valuable specimen.

Animal cloning began in 1996 with Dolly the sheep. Torrent said it took three years of work to devise a means of preserving what he called valuable bull genes.

[Associated Press]

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