China successfully clones 10 yaks in major livestock breeding breakthrough

China has achieved a substantial breakthrough in livestock breeding technology by successfully cloning ten yaks in a single batch for the first time. The announcement was made on Monday in Damxung County in the southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region of China.

The achievement was realized through a domestically developed breeding system that combines whole-genome selection with somatic cell cloning, following three years of research by a Chinese scientific team.

Between March 25 and April 5 of this year, a second batch of cloned yaks resulted in ten successful pregnancies, all of which were naturally delivered. Researchers indicated that the results demonstrate the technology’s potential for large-scale industrial application.

This breakthrough follows the birth of the world’s first cloned yak on July 10, 2025. Named “Namco 1#,” the animal weighed 16.75 kilograms at birth and reached 183.25 kilograms at 286 days old.

Yak farming is an essential industry targeted for development in Xizang during China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). Traditional yak breeding has relied on phenotype selection, a process that can take up to twenty years and often leads to declining genetic quality.

Researchers stated that the new method can shorten the breeding cycle to less than five years by accurately identifying desirable genetic traits such as rapid growth, disease resistance, feed efficiency, and adaptation to high-altitude, low-oxygen environments, while enabling rapid replication of elite breeding stock.

Experts also noted that the technology could aid conservation efforts for rare yak genetic resources, including the endangered golden wild yak, which has an estimated population of over 300 in Xizang.

To date, the research team has developed over 200 cloned embryos of golden wild yaks and hybrid wild-blood yaks, laying the foundation for future embryo transfer and species recovery programs.