Dolly the sheep, famously the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, did not have any clones of her own. Her offspring were naturally conceived lambs, not clones.
While Dolly herself was a groundbreaking clone, she proved to be a fertile animal, capable of natural reproduction. She was successfully bred with a Welsh Mountain ram, leading to the birth of several lambs over her lifetime. These lambs were the result of sexual reproduction, meaning they inherited genetic material from both Dolly and the ram, and were therefore not genetically identical to Dolly (i.e., not her clones).
Dolly gave birth to a total of six lambs through natural breeding, demonstrating that cloned animals could lead normal, fertile lives.
Dolly's Offspring
| Name(s) of Lamb(s) | Type of Birth |
|---|---|
| Bonnie | Single |
| Sally and Rosie | Twins |
| Lucy, Darcy, Cotton | Triplets |
