New Delhi  - Scientists in India's northern state of Haryana have cloned a buffalo using foetal tissue, a news report said Sunday.

The female calf named Garima weighed 43 kilogrammes and was born at the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal city, 110 kilometres north of national capital New Delhi, a report in the Hindu daily said.

"Garima is healthy and we are optimistic about her survival," institute director AK Srivastava was quoted as saying.

Indian scientists had cloned the world's first buffalo earlier this year. But the animal, born February 6, died of pneumonia within a week.

Scientists used the foetal tissue to clone the calf this time instead of the ear tissue of a female buffalo, as they did last time.

Srivastava said the "hand-guided cloning technique" which was employed for the cloning, allows for the gender of the calf to be chosen.

India has the world's largest population of buffaloes and cloning would increase the number of the elite animals in their species, he added.(dpa)