Ol Pejeta, Kenya - Wildlife experts and veterinarians say there is hope to prevent the extinction of the northern white rhino because they successfully extracted eggs from the last two remaining females of the species. The eggs will be used to reproduce the species through a surrogate.
The groundbreaking procedure was carried out Thursday on the northern white rhinos known as Najin and Fatu who cannot carry a pregnancy.
The joint effort by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Avantea, Dvur Králové Zoo, Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the Kenya Wildlife Service saw a team of vets successfully harvest a total of ten eggs from the rhinos.
The eggs are to be artificially inseminated with frozen sperm from a northern white rhino bull and then transferred to a southern white rhino surrogate mother.
A ranger reaches out towards female northern white rhino Najin, 30, one of the last two northern white rhinos on the planet, in her enclosure at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. Wildlife experts and vets say there is hope for the northern white rhino which is on the verge of extinction, after they successfully managed to draw eggs Thursday from the last two of the species, hoping they can be used to reproduce the species through a surrogate. Picture: Ben Curtis/AP
Female northern white rhinos Fatu, 19, left, and Najin, 30, right, the last two northern white rhinos on the planet, graze in their enclosure at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. Picture: Ben Curtis/AP
Female northern white rhinos Fatu, 19, right, and Najin, 30, left, the last two northern white rhinos on the planet, are fed some carrots by a ranger in their enclosure at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. Picture: Ben Curtis/AP