"Cloning can be used when an animal of high genetic value has died from an accident," said Rodolfo Rumpf, who led the research for Investigaciones Agropecuarias (Embrapa).

He told journalists Monday that the calf, born September 4, is in perfect health.

He said the technique could also be used to replace dead members of endangered species.

In fact, the project came about as the result of an accidental death.

An eight-year-old cow called T. Melo Lenda, who had earned renown as a milk producer, was killed by an accident on November 5.

Although her owners extracted her ovaries, the eggs would not germinate. So Rumpf and his team used cells gathered from the outer ovaries to clone the cow, called Lenda.

TERRA.WIRE