Reverse Course: Cloning, tracking and rebuilding to save animals on the brink

Here & Now Anytime

NPR

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4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 27 February 2026

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

There are only a few hundred black-footed ferrets still living in the Western United States. But scientists have been able to clone ferrets from genetic specimens collected in the 1980s. Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd talks with Ryan Phelan, co-founder of Revive & Restore, an organization involved with the cloning project.

Then, the number of moose in Minnesota is about half what it was just 20 years ago. Here & Now’s Chris Bentley reports on efforts to track juvenile moose, who may hold the key to growing the population.

And, Arizona’s Mt. Graham is the only place a species of red squirrel can survive. When a 2017 fire ravaged their habitat, their population dropped to only 35. O’Dowd climbs to the top of Mt. Graham to report on how scientists are rebuilding their habitat and attempting to breed more squirrels.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This week on Consider This, President Trump says that he's thinking about a possible strike on Iran.
0:06.8	In Congress, Senator Tim Cain of Virginia is moving to ensure that President Trump cannot do that alone.
0:12.5	Succeed or fail. We shouldn't be at war without a vote. And so members of Congress should be held accountable.
0:18.5	Listen for more on Consider This on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:25.4	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:30.8	They were once thought to be completely extinct, not even in human care, like completely gone from the earth. Life finds a way,
0:40.1	it's been said. But it's far from given that your favorite animal is going to survive climate change.
0:59.9	This is here and now anytime from NPR and WBUR.
1:01.1	I'm Chris Bentley.
1:15.6	Today on the show, we're handing the mic over to three animals with stories to tell, with the help of the scientists trying to save them, including biologists in the Northwoods of Minnesota who want to know
1:22.0	what's killing young moose. Think of it as like wildlife CSI. Wildlife CSI? and then if you figure out what some of the drivers, what can we do about it?
1:31.3	We'll also get a glimpse of the species that few have ever seen in the wild.
1:35.9	It's like a diamond, you know, precious jewel.
1:39.0	It's our heritage.
1:41.5	For this episode, Peter O'Dowd and I journeyed to some of the most remote parts of the country
1:46.8	to hear how scientists are trying to save animals from extinction and help them cope with climate change.
1:53.2	In a few minutes, we'll hear my story from northern Minnesota, where biologists are tracking down moose in the frozen boreal forest,
2:00.5	using helicopters and infrared cameras.
2:03.2	I was really close to the Canadian border the whole time.
2:05.7	And meanwhile, Peter, you were down on the country's other border, looking for a much
2:09.4	smaller mammal.
2:11.0	How did you find out about this Mount Graham Red Squirrel in the first place?
	...

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