Cloned Pashmina Goat - A Gift From Kashmiri Scientists

By Author: Ravi Kaul
Total Articles: 4
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Since the Clone is female so it has been named Noori, which means light. It is believed that its existence has thrown a new light," Dr Majeed Fazili, who was part of the team headed by Dr Riaz Ahmad Shah.
Shah is one of the leading an associate professor with the Centre of Animal Biotechnology at Sher-i-Kashmir Agriculture University for Science and technology (SKAUST).

This cloning project was funded by World Bank, the clone project was a jointly worked by SKAUST and Karnal-based National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI).Noori since its existence has shown a positive growth and heathy increase."Noori has gained weight. From 1.3 kg at the time of birth on March 9, it's 5 kg. She is healthy and was allowed to be part of more than two dozen pashmina goats assembled at Alastaingh laboratory for the purpose," said Dr Fazili.

Noori is supposed to be the result of two years rigorous efforts made towards scientific research . "It took two years for standardisation of the technique," said Dr Shah.Kashmir’s scientists took matters into their own hands, literally. Using a “handmade” cloning procedure, Dr Riaz ...
... Ahmad Shah, a veterinarian in the animal biotechnology center of the Sher-e-Kashmir University, and six other scientists brought the first pashmina goat clone, Noori, into the world on March 9.

This clone of pashmina goat has surely become a good news for fine fiber-producing pashmina goats, which are only spotted at an altitude of 14,000 feet in Ladakh, the coldest region of the state.

"With Noori there is lot of hope that pashmina shawls can be yielded in lower altitude based regions like Kashmir valley," said Dr Fazili.
The valley owes its fame, besides natural beauty, to famed fine soft light weighted ,warm wool of pashmina, gathered from high risiing mountainous of Ladakh after the goat sheds its wool as a natural process.The goat survives minus 40 degree Celsius temperature at an altitude of 14,000 feet. In spring, the animal sheds its fiber, called soft pashm, six times finer than human hair. The fiber is used to spun famous kashmiri shawls, scarves, and stoles.

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