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First-Ever IVF Rhino Pregnancy Brings Hope for Species

Scientists have successfully achieved the world’s first in vitro fertilization (IVF) rhino pregnancy, raising hopes for saving the critically endangered northern white rhino species. With only two of these animals remaining on the planet, this fertility breakthrough represents a pivotal step in Conservation efforts.

Source: BBC News/YouTube

The procedure involved the transfer of a lab-created rhino embryo into a surrogate mother from the closely related southern white rhino sub-species. This success has paved the way for the next phase, aiming to repeat the process with northern white rhino embryos.

The Biorescue project, an international consortium dedicated to saving the northern white rhino, spearheaded this achievement. Susanne Holtze, a scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany, expressed confidence that the success with southern white rhinos indicates the potential to create northern white rhinos through the same method, offering a lifeline to a species on the brink of extinction.

Once widespread across central Africa, illegal poaching driven by the demand for rhino horn decimated the wild population of northern white rhinos. Now, only two females, Najin and her daughter Fatu, remain, both kept under tight security at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The inability to reproduce has technically rendered the species extinct.

The Biorescue team initially turned to southern white rhinos, a Conservation success story with a population of thousands, to develop and refine their fertility science. The process involved overcoming challenges such as collecting eggs from the massive two-tonne animals and creating rhino embryos in a lab.

Despite setbacks, including the tragic death of a surrogate mother 70 days into a successful pregnancy, the team remains determined. The embryo transfer technique proved successful, demonstrating the viability of rhino IVF pregnancies.

Now, the focus shifts to the 30 precious northern white rhino embryos stored in liquid nitrogen in Germany and Italy. These embryos, created using eggs from Fatu and sperm from two deceased male northern white rhinos, present a unique challenge. The last two surviving northern whites cannot carry a pregnancy due to age and health issues. Therefore, the embryos will be implanted into the womb of a surrogate southern white rhino in a pioneering attempt at interspecies IVF.

The researchers hope to implant the embryos in the coming months, aiming for the calf to be born while some northern white rhinos are still alive. The goal is to preserve the social communication and heritage of the species by allowing the new calf to learn from the last two surviving rhinos.

While acknowledging the genetic diversity challenges, the Biorescue team is simultaneously exploring experimental techniques, such as creating rhino sperm and eggs from stem cells, to ensure the long-term survival of the species.

Despite debates among wildlife experts about the allocation of resources, the BioRescue project coordinator, Jan Stejskal, emphasizes the responsibility to save the northern white rhino. Acknowledging human-induced extinction through greed, he argues that having the technology to assist in their rescue mandates its use.