REVERSE
EXTINCTION
The last male Northern White Rhino known to the world died on March 19, 2018. The species is now functionally extinct. But for the first time in history we have the reproductive technology to reverse this extinction.
To do so, we ask for your help.
Nowadays, there are only two northern white rhinos known to the world. Their names are Najin and Fatu and they are both females. Both of them live in human care in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, their home since 2009.
They were moved there from Safari Park Dvůr Králové in the Czech Republic along with two male rhinos in the hope that a natural environment would prompt their breeding.
But the rhinos did not manage to mate successfully before the two males died in 2014 and 2018 respectively.
Nevertheless, the international BioRescue team led by Prof. Thomas Hildebrandt of Leibniz-IZW Berlin, Germany, and coordinated by Jan Stejskal of Safari Park Dvůr Králové, Czech Republic, is now well on the track to saving the future for the northern white rhino.
Thanks to recent advances in reproductive technology, the remaining rhinos’ eggs are used to produce embryos in a lab with the help of frozen semen samples from the deceased males.
The team is the first in the world to achieve this milestone in rhino reproduction with 29 embryos created so far.
The eggs are retrieved through a delicate procedure that causes no harm to the last females and the produced embryos will be incubated by surrogate females of the southern white rhino. Both male and female calves will be born in the foreseeable future, giving the species a new chance at prosperity.
This all sounds like a very complicated process - and it is. However, the BioRescue team has already proved its abilities.
The team members have designed prototypes of tools needed to collect rhino females’ eggs, have developed protocols to produce embryos, and have even made so-called primordial germ cells from tissue samples of the northern white rhino that will allow the team to produce embryos completely in a lab. BioRescue is the first team in the world to achieve all this.
The dramatic potential of this technology to reverse extinction cannot proceed without funding. Despite all its achievements, the BioRescue team still needs your support.
To ensure the survival of the northern white rhino, it was necessary to establish a large group of dedictaed experts that all contribute to the common goal.
From the rhinos’ caretakers in Ol Pejeta and wildlife vets overseeing the procedures in Kenya to top reproduction experts in Berlin, world-class embryologists in Italy or pioneering cell-biologists in Japan, everyone in the team is committed to delivering their best not only for the rescue of the northern white rhino, but also to the larger cause of gathering knowledge that can prevent the extinction of many other species.
