NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 18 – The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), in collaboration with worldwide companions within the BioRescue consortium, is exploring Assisted Reproduction Techniques (ART) utilizing the one two remaining feminine northern white rhinos within the nation to avoid wasting the species from the brink of extinction.
The unprecedented scientific rescue mission will contain the one two remaining Northern White Rhinos (NWR) on Earth, Najin and her daughter Fatu, who dwell on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia County.
Erustus Kanga, Director General of KWS, famous that the species was declared functionally extinct following the dying of the final identified male, Sudan, in 2018.
Now, the world’s hopes relaxation on a pioneering strategy: Assisted Reproduction Techniques (ART).
“At this level, we’re on the most important stage but. After years of meticulous analysis and perfecting our strategies, we at the moment are aiming to realize a being pregnant utilizing northern white rhino embryos. The significance of this milestone can’t be overstated—not just for Kenya however for international conservation,” stated Prof. Kanga, Director General of KWS.
The ART process is complicated and transcontinental. It includes harvesting egg cells from Najin and Fatu in Kenya and flying them inside a 24-hour window to the Avantea laboratory in Cremona, Italy. There, the eggs are matured and fertilised with cryopreserved sperm from deceased northern white rhino bulls.
The ensuing embryos are then preserved via cryopreservation, awaiting switch into surrogate moms—Southern White Rhinos (SWR)—to hold the pregnancies to time period.
Kanga revealed that the proof of idea has already been efficiently demonstrated, noting that this breakthrough paves the best way for utilizing pure NWR embryos in future transfers.
“The precision, pace, and care concerned on this course of is extraordinary. Every stage—from oocyte assortment to fertilization and future implantation—is dealt with by a worldwide workforce of specialists with military-level precision. The world is watching, and we stay optimistic,” Prof. Kanga added.
The BioRescue undertaking started in 2019, constructing on many years of world conservation efforts. It unites scientific and conservation establishments from Kenya, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Czech Republic.
The final 4 viable NWRs had been transferred from Zoo Dvůr Králové within the Czech Republic to Ol Pejeta in 2009 to stimulate pure breeding—a technique that sadly failed. With the lack of the final males, Sudan and Suni, all hope turned to superior science.
The consortium is optimistic {that a} profitable Northern White Rhino being pregnant may very well be introduced quickly, a second that will mark an unprecedented victory for species conservation worldwide.
“The BioRescue undertaking, which we launched into in 2019, is a testomony to what will be achieved via worldwide collaboration. For KWS, seeing this undertaking succeed might be a historic milestone, reaffirming our dedication to progressive conservation options,” Kanga concluded.
