SRINAGAR, India: Scientists in Indian-controlled Kashmir have cloned a rare Himalayan goat in hopes of boosting the number of animals famed for their coats of pashmina wool, used to make cashmere.

Lead project scientist Riaz Ahmad Shah says the March 9 birth of a cloned female kid could lead to breeding programs for cashmere-producing goats in other Himalayan regions and mass production of the silky soft wool.

Cashmere goats take their name from the Kashmir region and are found in parts of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau. In Kashmir they are concentrated in remote, barren areas of the Ladakh region, bordering China.

Shah's team at Sher-i-Kashmir University took two years to clone the kid.