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The world’s first IVF rhino pregnancy may give the remaining two northern white rhinos in Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy hope.
Over half a million rhinoceros roamed African and Asian plains a century ago. These beloved herbivores, with their armored skins, dissatisfied looks, and archaic horns, represent our wildlife crisis: Poaching and habitat destruction have reduced their populations by 95% to 27,000 globally.
Most of them now dwell in national parks and reserves like Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy to avoid poachers who want their horns, which are treasured in Asian medicine.
Only two northern white rhinos remain in Ol Pejeta, under 24-hour armed protection.
However, this week their experts reported a major advance in saving these lovely creatures. They impregnated a southern white rhino, a near cousin of the northern white, via IVF, a breakthrough. It’s the first rhino IVF success and a major step toward saving the northern white.
Ol Pejeta’s 360 sq km of grasslands and dense bush, shadowed by Mount Kenya, is the size of Philadelphia or Dublin.
The millionaire weapons trader Adnan Khashoggi owned the reserve as a cattle pasture. It was acquired in 1988 and developed into a rhino-focused wildlife refuge. It became East Africa’s biggest black rhino sanctuary when Fauna and Flora International purchased it.
Ol Pejeta, meaning “of the burnt grass” in Maasai, is a plateau 1,800m above sea level. The 100 animal and 500 avian species thrive in this warmer tropical environment.
The conservancy is known for its rhinos, but it also boasts 100 lions in seven prides, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, hippos, buffalos, and other African wildlife.
Rhinos are the true winners. Ol Pejeta has 165 highly endangered black rhinos, 52 southern white rhinos, and two northern whites. An armed rhino protection squad, rangers, and a K9 dog unit guard them 24/7.
One rhino costs US$850 a month to protect, but it works. Over five years have passed without a rhino poaching.
All “black” and “white” African rhinos are gray. One popular explanation is that “white” originates from the Dutch word “wijd” meaning “wide”. Dutch immigrants in South Africa saw the white rhino’s broad, square mouth and named it. Black rhinos are called for their smaller, pointed upper lip, distinguishing them from “white” rhinos.
White rhinos are social and gather in groups. This black rhino rushed at our automobile, showing that they are more isolated and hostile.
All Ol Pejeta rhinos are priceless, but 34-year-old Najin and her kid Fatu are the most precious. They are the only two northern white rhinos, a subspecies that flourished in central Africa until hunting.
In 2009, Ol Pejeta received Sudan, Suni, and Najin from a Czech zoo. After the zoo’s breeding effort failed, experts believed Kenya’s climate and abundant grasslands would help them reproduce. They were four of seven northern whites remained.
Four rhinos were given a healthy meal in a 700-acre enclosure under 24-hour armed supervision to keep them safe. Najin mated with Suni, but she did not become pregnant, and Suni, Sudan, and the final northern whites in other zoos perished.
Only Najin and Fatu remain in the fenced cage with a few southern white females.
For 14 years, head keeper Zachary Mutai has cared for Ol Pejeta’s northern whites and been close to them. “I feel so grateful that I get to look after the last two of their kind,” said he, “but at the same time it’s a huge weight on my shoulders because they need so much special care, and the whole world is watching.”
Najin and Fatu, amiable and used to people, may be met in Ol Pejeta. The emotional impact of seeing them via a safari vehicle window was surprising. Being so close to any wild creature is moving, but seeing an animal that symbolizes mankind’s degradation of the earth shortly before its species becomes extinct will stick with me.
But all may not be lost. Researchers from the worldwide partnership Biorescue Project have been saving the species for years. Using sperm from two of the final guys and eggs from 23-year-old Fatu, they created 30 frozen northern white embryos. Experts will employ southern white female surrogates since neither female can carry a pregnancy due to age and health.
IVF on rhinos has never been done and is “very challenging in such a big animal, in terms of placing an embryo inside the reproductive tract, which is almost 2m inside the animal,” Biorescue scientist Susanne Holtze told BBC News.
The scientists intended to test with southern white embryos before using their treasured northern white embryos. After 13 tries, they succeeded for the first time. Both mother and fetus died when the female acquired a bacterial illness, although the 70-day pregnancy and post-mortem indicated the male calf was growing well.
Although the pregnancy ended tragically, this achievement takes scientists closer to developing a newborn northern white rhino. It won’t be enough to rescue the species with such a small gene pool, but scientists aim to utilize stem cells to generate rhino sperm and eggs to form embryos.
Before it’s too late, visit Ol Pejeta and meet Najin and Fatu in 2024.
