World's 1st embryo transfer could rescue northern white rhino from extinction
The world's first successful embryo transfer in white rhinos could save the critically endangered species of northern white rhinos from extinction, scientists announced in Berlin on Wednesday.
The southern white rhino embryo was produced in vitro from collected egg cells and sperm and transferred into a southern white rhino surrogate mother at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya on September 24, 2023.
An international BioRescue team backed by the German government confirmed a pregnancy of 70 days with a well-developed 6.4 cm long male embryo.
"We made the impossible possible" Thomas Hildebrandt, head of the Leibniz institute fo zoo and wildlife research, told reporters during a press conference at Berlin Tierpark zoo.
The last male northern white rhino died in 2018 with only two female female northern white rhinos remaining.
Fatu and her mother Najin are strongly protected at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, but neither of the two remaining northern white rhinos can carry a calf to term.
Northern white rhinos, which are actually grey, used to roam freely in several countries in east and central Africa, but their numbers fell sharply due to widespread poaching for their horns.
The BioRescue consortium has been racing against time to save the world's most endangered mammal.
The first successful embryo transfer into a more abundant species of white rhino in Kenya, which was carried out by the BioRescue team, means a cornerstone in the scientist's race against the extinction of the northern white rhinos. It proves the concept and allows us to now safely move to the transfer of northern white rhino embryos, the scientists stated.
