Srinagar, March 20 -- It is a sad day for science as the first cloned female Pashmina goat 'Noorie' has passed away.

Kashmir achieved a rare feat in 2012 when its scientists gave India the second cloned animal and the world its first cloned Pashmina goat - Noorie (The Light). India's first cloned animal -'Garima', a buffalo calf - was born in Haryana in 2009.

It took two years for Dr. Riaz Shah and six other scientists at the animal biotechnology center, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Technology (SKUAST) to achieve this rare scientific feat.

Noorie was born on March 9, 2012, to three mothers (one provided the egg; another DNA, and a third carried the cloned embryo to term).

Science Entrepreneur Naveed Chikan said Noori's bi...