Almost extinct rhino is pregnant from embryo transfer

Female northern white rhinos Fatu and Najin (in background). Pic/AP

A rhinoceros is pregnant through embryo transfer in the first successful use of a method that conservationists said might later make it possible to save the nearly extinct northern white rhino subspecies.

In testing with another subspecies, the researchers created a southern white rhino embryo in a lab from an egg and sperm that had been previously collected from other rhinos and transferred it into a southern white rhino surrogate mother in Kenya on September 24, 2023. The surrogate is now 70 days pregnant with a well-developed 6.4 cm male embryo, the BioRescue consortium of scientists and conservationists. Pregnancies in rhinos last about 16-18 months.

The northern white rhinoceros subspecies has only two known members left in the world. Najin, a 34-year-old, and her 23-year-old offspring, Fatu, are both incapable of natural reproduction, according to the Ol-Pejeta Conservancy where they live. The last male white rhino, Sudan, was 45 when he was euthanised in 2018 due to age-related complications. He was Najin's sire.

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