By Eddah Waithaka
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and international partners in the BioRescue consortium are racing against time to save the northern white rhino (NWR) from extinction.
With only two females left, Najin and her daughter Fatu, living at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, scientists are pushing the boundaries of reproductive technology to revive the functionally extinct subspecies.
A High-Stakes Rescue Mission
After the last male, Sudan, died in 2018, the BioRescue team turned to cutting-edge Assisted Reproduction Techniques (ART).
They now collect eggs from Najin and Fatu, rush them to Italy’s Avantea laboratory within 24 hours, fertilize them with frozen sperm from deceased NWR males, and create embryos.
These embryos will later be implanted into southern white rhino (SWR) surrogates. The team has already proven the method works, successful SWR embryo transfers have resulted in pregnancies, paving the way for the crucial NWR embryo attempts.
So far, they have created and preserved several pure NWR embryos, waiting for the next big step: implantation.
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Kenya Leads a Global Conservation Milestone
Prof. Erustus Kanga, Director General of KWS, emphasized the project’s significance, “After years of research, we are now at the most critical stage, achieving a northern white rhino pregnancy. We’ve already shown it’s possible with southern white rhinos. Now, the world is watching as we attempt the impossible.”
He added, “Kenya bears a huge responsibility as the home of the last two northern white rhinos. This mission isn’t just for Kenya, it’s for the planet. The BioRescue project proves what global collaboration can achieve.”
A Legacy of Hope
The BioRescue effort builds on decades of conservation work, including the 2009 relocation of the last four fertile NWRs from a Czech zoo to Ol Pejeta.
With no males left, science is the only hope. Now, the consortium is closer than ever to a breakthrough. If successful, the world could soon celebrate the first confirmed NWR pregnancy in decades, a landmark victory for wildlife conservation.
The clock is ticking, but the team remains hopeful. For Najin, Fatu, and the entire species, this could be the last chance at survival.
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