Forgotten 'spotted Sapsaree' dogs unveiled
A local research team cloned a rare breed of Korea's indigenous dog.
Two spotted "Sapsaree" puppies, named "Gangee" and "Sanee" are romping around.
The spotted dog is a indigenous Korean breed often appeared in many paintings during Korea's ancient Joseon Dynasty.
Sapsarees became endangered after Korea was under the Japanese Colonial Rule.
However, they are now under a stern protection since being designated as the country's National Treasure.
Among them, the short-haired breed accounts for only three percent of the entire surviving Sapsarees in the country. Only 10 are known to live nationwide.
The four-month-old Kangee and Sanee both were born in February. They have been cloned by the research team fusing somatic cells from a 10-year-old spotted dog into the ovum of a surrogate.
[Kim Min-Gyu, professor of Dept. of Animal Science & Biotechnology, Chungnam National University] "We feel proud not only because we've successfully cloned our nation's indigenous dog breed and let many people learn about it, but because we've taken a great opportunity to globalize the national dogs."
The research team is also planning to clone a female spotted Sapsaree to make the dogs breed naturally.
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