How IVF might save a near-extinct species
Najin and Fatu, the only remaining northern white rhinos in the world, live under constant protection from poachers in Kenya.
Once abundant across Central Africa, the northern white rhino was effectively rendered extinct when the last male, Sudan, died in 2018. The now-elderly, female rhinos are known as the world’s rarest rhinos, according to Fauna & Flora International.
Researchers are hoping their reputation will change after the first successful rhino embryo transfer, or IVF pregnancy, per The Associated Press.
Why are the northern white rhinos endangered?
Rhino horns, used for carvings and controversial medicinal applications, have been in demand internationally for decades. The northern white rhino was hit hard by the market for horns, causing their numbers to plummet, according to National Geographic.
Currently, members of many rhino species, including the last two northern white rhinos, reside at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in East Africa for their safety.
Despite existing alongside some of the highest predator densities in Kenya, the conservancy manages a successful livestock program, per the Ol Pejeta Conservancy website.
The first successful rhino IVF pregnancy
In a press release, the BioRescue project, an international group of scientists leading the research on restoring the rhino’s population, described a successful lab-assisted impregnation of a southern white rhino.
Jan Sejskal of the BioRescue project said that the successful embryo transfer and pregnancy is a “proof of concept.” The surrogate rhino, Curra, died a few months into her pregnancy from a bacterial infection not related to being pregnant. The embryo transfer and early stages of pregnancy paved the way to help the endangered northern white rhino, per National Geographic.
Semen from four of the last male northern white rhinos is in storage and can be used in IVF in the future with eggs harvested from females. The last two northern white rhinos, Najin, 34, and her offspring, Fatu, 23, are infertile due to their ages. The southern white rhino, a similar enough species, can carry the embryo as a surrogate mother, according to The Associated Press.
The BioRescue team, even though they have frozen embryos, knows the clock is ticking. Wanting northern white rhino calves to be with and learn from others of the same species means they need to be born before the death of the remaining female rhinos, per National Geographic.
Jo Shaw, CEO of Save the Rhino International, told The Associated Press that “News of the first successful embryo transfer in a rhino is an exciting step, however it sadly comes too late to recreate a viable population of northern white rhinos.”
National Geographic, which documented the process of the embryo transfer, says the footage is set to appear on Nat Geo and Disney+ in 2025.
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