Only beeps from medical monitoring equipment broke the silence as veterinarians harvested eggs from the last two northern white rhinos on the planet.
The last two northern white rhinos left worldwide – Fatu and Najin – are both female and living at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The last male, Sudan, died last year, raising fears the subspecies is on the verge of extinction, especially because the two females cannot carry a pregnancy.
In a new glimmer of hope, scientists announced Wednesday that they successfully fertilized in-vitro embryos collected from the two remaining female northern white rhinos.
The embryos were created with eggs extracted from Fatu and Najin by international scientists last month and frozen sperm from dead males. Two embryos were viable, and are now stored in liquid nitrogen, waiting to be transferred into a surrogate mother in the near future, Ol Pejeta Conservancy said in a statement.
The embryos are just one part of a long journey to stop the northern white rhino’s rapid descent into extinction.
Najin and Fatu are not able to carry a pregnancy themselves, so the embryos will likely be transferred to a female southern white rhino who would act as a surrogate.
“Five years ago it seemed like the production of a northern white rhino embryo was (an) almost unachievable goal – and today we have them,” said Jan Stejskal of Dvůr Králové Zoo, where Najin and Fatu were born.
‘A tangible reality’
The last male of the species, named Sudan, died of natural causes in March 2018. Another male, Suni, died in 2014. Sperm from both males was cryogenically frozen with the hope that someday the technology would advance enough to use it in reproduction.
Sudan died of natural causes in March last year and another male died in 2014. Sperm from both males was cryogenically frozen with the hope th