In a groundbreaking achievement announced in Berlin on Wednesday (Jan 24), scientists have successfully conducted the first in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure on a southern white rhino. This milestone holds significant promise for the conservation of the highly endangered species, especially considering the dire situation of the northern white rhinos.
The northern white rhino faces functional extinction, with only two remaining females—Najin and her daughter Fatu. However, neither of them is capable of carrying a pregnancy to term. In response to this critical situation, researchers from the international scientific consortium Biorescue have undertaken the challenge of saving the northern white rhino through innovative reproductive techniques.
The recent success involves the implantation of a lab-grown northern white rhino embryo into a southern white rhino surrogate. Susanne Holtze, a scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany, part of the Biorescue project, expressed the significance of this achievement. She stated, “To achieve the first successful embryo transfer in a rhino is a huge step,” and expressed confidence that this breakthrough would pave the way for the conservation of the northern white rhino species.
Once widespread across central Africa, northern white rhinos experienced a significant decline due to uncontrolled hunting during the colonial era. In the present day, poaching for their horns remains the primary threat to their survival.
Project leader Thomas Hildebrandt, speaking at the press conference in Berlin, described the successful impregnation of a southern white rhino with an embryo of the same species as a “milestone.” Hildebrandt emphasized that the achievement surpassed previously held beliefs and demonstrated the feasibility of saving the northern white rhino through these advanced reproductive techniques.
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