CNN —A world first in rhinoceros reproductive health could save northern white rhinos from extinction, scientists said Wednesday.
The team at the BioRescue project successfully impregnated a southern white rhino via in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a press release, creating a possible path for restoring the northern white rhino species.
Northern white rhinos are critically endangered and the only two remaining rhinos, Najin and Fatu, are infertile females that live under constant surveillance in Kenya.
However, there are living cells from 12 different northern white rhinos stored in liquid nitrogen in Italy and Germany.
Female northern white rhinos Fatu, left, and Najin, right, the last two northern white rhinos on the planet, graze in their enclosure at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya on Aug. 23, 2019.
Persons:
Ben Curtis, Athos, Thomas Hildebrandt, It’s, Curra, Hildebrandt, Fatu
Organizations:
CNN, Pejeta Conservancy, Zoo Salzburg, Conservancy
Locations:
Kenya, Italy, Germany, Pejeta, Austria, Elenore, Belgium, Ol