09/05/05 Where the cloned mules are now

American Rancher They made history a couple of years ago at the University of Idaho with three successful mule clones. I'm Bill Scott. So where are the three mules today? Some answers right after this April 2003. Idaho Gem is born, the world's first cloned mule. Doctor Dirk Vanderwall and colleagues at the University of Idaho and Utah State University also succeeded in adding two more mule clones that spring and summer. They're two years old now. VANDERWALL "They've been on the road extensively interacting with the public especially for the first year after their births." Don Jacklin of Post Falls owned a champion racing mule, Taz. He went to the U of I seeking help on possibly cloning Taz and ending up donating the money to the university for the research work. JACKLIN "I'm able to really see a lot more rewards than if I were in quarter horse racing or thoroughbred racing because mule racing is totally new. It's basically 15 years old now so it's in its infancy. We're able to develop faster and better animals and see those results on a monthly and daily basis." Utah Pioneer remains at the U of I campus where student groups still line up to see him. Idaho Gem and Idaho Star are in California where they're going into training and soon Jacklin and the rest of us will see if they perform on the track like Taz. American Rancher Bill Scott