In 2019, seven eggs of the world’s LAST TWO remaining White Rhinos were successfully fertilized!

Only a couple of months ago, seven eggs from the world’s last two remaining northern white rhinos were successfully fertilized artificially, reviving hopes of saving the highly endangered animals.

Currently, a mother and daughter are the only two northern white rhinoceroses left in the world. This white rhino subspecies made headlines last year following the death of Sudan, the last known male of his kind, making the species functionally extinct. Some scientists are cautiously optimistic that it could be brought back with the help of IVF technology, while others say the time has simply run out for the subspecies, meaning it won’t be long before it disappears.

Najin and Fatu are Sudan’s daughter and grand-daughter and the three animals lived together at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, about 250km (155 miles) north of Nairobi, where Sudan died.

The scientists said in a statement they had harvested 10 eggs from Najin and Fatu and that seven of those had been successfully matured and artificially inseminated. The team of scientists is led by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin.

The sperm used in the process had been harvested from two bulls of the same species and kept frozen.

That outcome was better than expected, said Cesare Galli, the managing director of Avantea, the laboratory in Italy. But it is only one more step in a conservation effort that has spanned continents and lasted for years.

Dr. Galli was working with scientists, veterinarians and conservationists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany, the Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic, and the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.

The ultimate goal is to create a herd of at least five northern white rhinos that could be released in their natural habitat in Africa, although that process could take decades.

Other species of rhino, including the southern white rhino and the black rhino, are frequently targeted by poachers who kill the animals for their horns to sell in illegal markets in Asia. In the 1970s, Kenya was home to around 20,000 rhinos, but decades of poaching have reduced the number to an estimated 650.

Sources: Reuters, NY Times, DW