How to save the northern white rhino

I knew that the white rhinoceros was an endangered species, teetering on the edge of extinction. What I hadn't realized was that there were two subspecies - northern and southern - and that the northern white rhino was substantially more endangered than the southern.

In fact, there are only two northern white rhinos left alive anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, both of them are female: a 35-year old mother, Najin, and her 24-year old daughter, Fatu. The last male of the subspecies, Sudan, died back in 2018. Najin and Fatu are living the good life in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, cared for around the clock and protected by armed guards. But the last two animals being females sounds like the end of the road, right?

Well, maybe not. The southern white rhino population is not exactly healthy, but they do at least number around 20,000 now, thanks to strong protection measures, captive breeding programs and, most recently, a surprisingly successful IVF (in vitro fertilization) program.

Unfortunately, for medical reasons, neither Najin nor Fatu are able to actually give birth. But the thought is that southern white rhinos are probably sufficiently similar to their northern cousins for a southern surrogate mother to bear a northern baby. An outfit called BioRescue has been creating northern white rhino embryos from Fatu's eggs and frozen sperm collected from other males before they were eradicated. The plan is to use southern surrogate mothers to host these northern embryos.

Northern white rhinos typically live to about 40 years of age, so there is a small window of opportunity to allow the two remaining animals to raise a few babies and teach them the social behaviour of their kind, but time is now of the essence. 

It's an audacious and slightly desperate plan, but these are desperate times for the northern white rhino.