Endangered species of rhinoceros rescued

Researchers in Johannesburg have succeeded in breeding three white rhinoceros fetuses that are almost completely extinct. So far, only two females and embryos are alive, which were obtained by fertilizing the eggs of one female with the frozen sperm of a male that has died.

The embryo is housed in liquid nitrogen and will be transferred to a surrogate mother over the coming months. The goal is to form a herd that would have five animals of both sexes and which would be returned to their natural environment. The fertilization process proved to be safe and successful. The next step is to select a female in a Kenyan rhino farm who would be a surrogate mother. Decades of poaching rhinos, especially white ones, because they kill them because of their horn, which is highly regarded in Chinese traditional medicine. Kenyan Wildlife Minister Najib Balala said it was very exciting that one subspecies of rhino would be saved thanks to science.