{"id":36289,"date":"2024-02-23T15:56:10","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T14:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ac6afd87-4472-4f6a-a196-48057d2757bd"},"modified":"2024-02-23T16:35:41","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T15:35:41","slug":"scientists-may-be-about-to-save-the-worlds-rarest-rhino-heres-what-theyre-doing","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/scientists-may-be-about-to-save-the-worlds-rarest-rhino-heres-what-theyre-doing\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists may be about to save the world’s rarest rhino. Here’s what they’re doing"},"content":{"rendered":"

A ground-breaking procedure involving the world’s first IVF rhino pregnancy could save the northern white rhino from extinction. <\/p>

By Megan Shersby\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 23 February 2024 at 14:56 PM<\/p>

\n\n

The fate of the northern white rhino hangs in the balance. There are only two of this subspecies left alive: Najin and Fatu \u2013 mother and daughter, and neither able to bear a pregnancy. <\/p>

The two rhinos were both once zoo animals, and are now kept at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya under constant protection. <\/p>

Sudan, the last male northern white rhino,\u00a0died in March 2018 aged 45<\/a>. He was also a resident of Ol Pejeta, and the father of Najin.\u00a0<\/p>

However, some conservationists still believe there is hope for recovering the subspecies, and a dedicated team at\u00a0BioRescue<\/a>, a project led by Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, think they have the answer. They’ve been developing in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques in southern white rhinos. <\/p>

Najin, seen here at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, is one of just two northern white rhinos left alive. Credit: Jon A. Ju\u00e1rez<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The breakthrough: IVF in action<\/h2>

A recent breakthrough is being heralded as the key for the next stage in the project. Two embryos were created from captive southern white rhinos (a female in Belgium and a male in Austria) and then transferred into a surrogate (in Kenya), followed by the successful implantation of one of them.<\/p>

\u201cTogether with the team and many professional partners, I developed the devices that can actually find and access the required location where to insert the tiny embryo into a two-tonne animal,\u201d says Thomas Hildebrant, BioRescue project head. <\/p>

\u201cIt took many years to get it right and we are overwhelmed that we now have proof that this technique works perfectly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

\"Rhino
As the procedure had never been done before, the risk of losing these unique embryos was very high. Scientists therefore decided to master their technique on another subspecies: the southern white rhino. This baby rhino is the result. Credit: Jon A. Ju\u00e1rez<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Mixed success for first IVF rhino pregnancy<\/h2>

Unfortunately, the surrogate mother died around 70 days into the pregnancy, due to infection from\u00a0Clostridium<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 a bacteria naturally found in the soil which can be deadly to animals. A male rhino also died from the infection.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cIt is bitter that this milestone is confirmed under such tragic circumstances with the death of the surrogate Curra and her unborn calf,\u201d adds Hildebrant, \u201cbut I am certain that this proof of concept is a turn of the tide for the survival of the northern white rhino and the health of Central-African ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>

\"Northern
Scientists have used Fatu’s eggs to make 30 embryos. The team can now proceed to the next crucial step: transferring some of them into a surrogate southern white rhino mother. Credit: Jan Zwilling<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The next step <\/h2>

Despite the loss of the surrogate, and not having brought an IVF pregnancy to term, the team believe that they can move onto implanting a northern white rhino embryo into a southern white rhino surrogate. <\/p>

It\u2019s hoped that the first northern white rhino calf will be born whilst Fatu and Najin are still alive, so it can learn \u201csocial communication\u201d and \u201chow to behave from them\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>

Thirty of these embryos are stored in liquid nitrogen in Germany and Italy. To increase genetic diversity for future breeding, scientists are hoping to create sperm and eggs from stem cells.\u00a0<\/p>