Scientists achieve world’s first IVF pregnancy in rhinos that could save species from extinction – with only two left in the world
Northern white rhinos are considered extinct, with only two females left alive, but scientists believe a new IVF treatment could save the species.
A team from the BioRescue Project, an international consortium of scientists and conservationists, believes in vitro fertilization (IVF) could bring the animals back.
IVF treatment is well established for humans and domesticated animals such as horses and cows, but this is the first time scientists have successfully used IVF on rhinos.
The team performed the procedure on southern white rhinos, cousins of the northern group.
BioRescue said it still has living cells from 30 northern white rhinos stored in liquid nitrogen and plans to use them for future IVF treatments for its endangered cousin.
Northern white rhinos are considered extinct; only two females are still alive
The IVF treatment resulted in a successful pregnancy, although the rhino died of an infection 70 days later
“It is completely uncharted territory and everything from the approach through procedural protocols to the required equipment had to be invented, developed, tried and tested to be safe to use,” says Thomas Hildebrandt, head of the BioRescue project.
BioRescue achieved the world’s first rhino pregnancy by transferring a lab-created embryo using southern white rhinos, which still have a population of thousands.
Scientists used the embryo of a southern white rhino and implanted it in a surrogate mother at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya in September.
The sperm came from a male southern white rhinoceros from the Salzburg Zoo in Hellbrunn, Austria, and the embryo came from Elenore, a southern white rhinoceros living at the Pairi Daiza Zoo in Belgium.
BioRescue achieved the world’s first rhino pregnancy by transferring a lab-created embryo using southern white rhinos
BioRescue scientists used IVF to implant a fertilized egg from a southern white rhino into a surrogate mother
There are only two northern white rhinos left in the world, and since they cannot reproduce, the species is considered extinct
The team managed to recover the fetus, which would have had a 95 percent chance of survival if it had lived
BioRescue announced that 70 days after they implanted the fertilized egg, the southern white rhino became pregnant with a male, but disaster struck when a storm swept through the area, releasing a bacteria called Clostridia into the air, which can be fatal are for animals.
The rhinos perished during the storm, but scientists concluded that if the female had made it, her offspring had a 95 percent chance of survival.
It took the scientists 13 attempts at rhino embryo transfers before they achieved a successful IVF pregnancy.
Najin and Fatu are the last living northern white rhinos in existence and live in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya
The two females cannot become pregnant due to their age and health problems, so the scientists decided they would implant the embryo into a surrogate southern white rhino.
The remaining two northern white rhinos, Najin and Fatu, were brought to the nature reserve to protect them from illegal poaching.
Both animals are heavily protected, with armed guards surrounding them day and night.
The two females cannot become pregnant due to their age and health problems, so the scientists decided they would implant the embryo into a surrogate southern white rhino.
The team said the success of the pregnancy gives them hope that they will achieve the same level of success with the northern white rhinos.
A timeline for the process has not yet been given.
Hildebrandt said the successful implantation of the southern white rhino gives the team hope for the future conservation of the northern white rhinos, and he is now keen to move forward with Najin and Fatu’s IVF treatment.
This site marks the death of the northern white rhinos killed by poachers in Kenya since 2004
“Although embryos can be stored in liquid nitrogen for a very long time, we are in a hurry to get a northern white rhino baby to the ground,” Hildebrandt said, adding, “With this proof of concept, it could become a reality in two.” up to three years.’
Susanne Holtze, a scientist on the BioRescue project, said the team used strategies to replicate stem cells and in the future plans to edit lost genetic information from museum samples and reintroduce it into the gene pool.
Building on their previous research, scientists had to figure out how to retrieve the specimens and when to implant them to have the best chance of success.
“The successful transfer of a southern white rhino embryo is a proof of concept that allows us to take this crucial step – an embryo transfer with a northern white rhino embryo – for the first time,” BioRescue said.
“Directly helping the northern white rhino survive in Kenya shows the crucial role that zoological institutions play in species conservation,” said Catherine Vancsok, scientific advisor to the Pairi Daiza Foundation.
Justin Heath, CEO of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy added: “This is a huge milestone for anyone who dedicates their lives to protecting endangered species.”
In the 1950s, there were more than 2,000 northern white rhinos in Africa, but illegal poachers wiped out almost all of them for their horns, leaving only Najin and her daughter Fatu in the wild.