This archive report was first published on 2 September 2019.
On August 25th, a team of international scientists and conservationists successfully fertilized seven out of ten eggs harvested from Kenya's last two northern white rhinos, Najin and Fatu.
The eggs were matured and artificially inseminated using ICSI (Intra Cytoplasm Sperm Injection) with frozen sperm from two different northern white rhino bulls, Suni and Saut.
According to Cesare Galli of Avantea in Cremona, Italy, who led the fertilization procedure, the high rate of maturation achieved was a surprise, comparable to what is typically seen with horse oocytes in European zoos.
Avantea is responsible for maturing the egg cells and creating viable embryos, working alongside Dvůr Králové Zoo, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, and the Kenya Wildlife Service.
The international research consortium to save the northern white rhino from extinction is led by Prof. Thomas Hildebrandt from the Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW).
The results of possible embryo development are expected to be announced around September 10th, marking a crucial step towards creating viable embryos that can be frozen and later transferred to southern white rhino surrogate mothers.
