Scientists have produced two more embryos of the northern white rhino as they race to save the world’s most endangered mammal from extinction.
The extra embryos produced by the researchers now bring to five the number of viable embryos produced so far in the race against time to revive the northern white rhino.
Neither of the two remaining northern white rhinos on the planet, a mother and her daughter who live in Kenya, are able to carry a rhino calf to full term and no known living males exist.
With the embryos made from the rhino egg cells and frozen sperm from dead males, the researchers hope to push an implant into surrogate mothers from an abundant rhino species.
Covid-19 pandemic delayed work being conducted by the BioRescue research team owing to the international travel restrictions that saw some crucial procedures interfered with.
The total of five embryos have been stored in liquid nitrogen inside a laboratory at Cremona in Lombardy region of Italy before they are finally transferred into a surrogate mother.
The team of scientists are hopeful they will be able to deliver their first northern white rhino calf in the next three years and increase the population significantly in the next 20 years.
The population of the northern white rhino used to be very high in most countries in East and Central Africa in the 70’s and 80s but poaching activities saw the numbers dwindle rapidly.
Sudan, the last known male northern white rhino, died at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Nanyuki, Kenya in March 2018.
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