The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in collaboration with international partners in the BioRescue consortium, are at a pivotal stage of a ground-breaking scientific mission towards pulling the northern white rhino (NWR) species back from the brink of extinction.
Following the death of the last male NWR (Sudan) in 2018, the BioRescue consortium is now exploring Assisted Reproduction Techniques (ART) using the only two remaining female NWRs, Najin and her daughter Fatu, both hosted at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya.
Speaking about the project, Prof. Erustus Kanga, the Kenya Wildlife Service Director General, said the project has been the result of years of research.
“After years of meticulous research and perfecting our methods, we are now at the critical stage of getting a pregnancy using northern white rhino embryos.”
How ART works
The intricate ART process involves harvesting oocytes (eggs) from Najin and Fatu, airlifting the oocytes to the Avantea laboratory in Cremona, Italy, within a critical 24-hour window for maturation into ovum, fertilisation of the ovum using cryopreserved sperm from deceased NWR males to form embryos that will later be transferred to surrogate SWRs to establish a pregnancy.
The embryo transfer technique, initially trialled using Southern White Rhino (SWR) embryos, has proven successful, and the proof of concept was affirmed with confirmations of pregnancy, clearing the path for NWR embryo transfers.
“We have already achieved a proof of concept by successfully creating a pregnancy in a surrogate using a Southern White Rhino embryo, so we know the system works,” added Prof. Kanga. “Now, the world watches with bated breath. Every step, from the collection of oocytes in Kenya to their fertilisation in Italy and their return for implantation, is executed with military precision by a dedicated team of experts.”
International collaboration was key to this project
The BioRescue project, which is the last hope for the functionally extinct subspecies, has so far successfully created some pure NWR embryos that are safely cryopreserved awaiting future transfer.
“This mission is of paramount importance. As the custodians of the last two northern white rhinos on the planet, Kenya carries a great responsibility not just to the Kenyan people, but to the global community.”
Prof. Kanga also added that this victory was a result of teamwork.
“The BioRescue project, which we embarked on in 2019, is a testament to what can be achieved through international collaboration. For KWS, seeing this project succeed will be a historic milestone, reaffirming our commitment to innovative conservation solutions.”
The BioRescue program represents an unprecedented global collaboration to save a species.
The journey began in earnest in 2019, building on decades of conservation efforts, including the 2009 transfer of the last four fertile NWRs from Zoo Dvůr Králové in the Czech Republic to Ol Pejeta Conservancy. With the passing of the last two males, Sudan and Suni, hope now rests entirely on science and the two remaining females, Najin and her daughter Fatu.
The consortium is optimistic that a confirmed Northern White Rhino pregnancy could be announced sooner rather than later, marking an unprecedented victory for global conservation efforts.
