As the health of the world’s last male northern white rhino declines in Kenya, a global team of scientists and conservationists is making effort to save the subspecies from extinction with the help of the two surviving females.
They are trying to create rhino embryos through in vitro fertilization and its success depends not on the sick, elderly male named Sudan, but on his daughter Najin and granddaughter Fatu, whose eggs would likely have to be extracted because the rhinos can’t reproduce naturally.
Celebrity status
Sudan, who could be euthanized because of a leg infection, is something of a celebrity, attracts thousands of visitors to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Sudan became “The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World” on Tinder dating app last year in a fundraising effort. “Sudan has been technically infertile for many years, so him dying is not going to affect the possibilities of recovery for the northern white rhino as a species,” Richard Vigne, the conservancy’s CEO, said.
Semen from dead northern white rhinos is stored in various locations around the world, and it is critical to keep the two females alive “until such time when the protocol or technique for in vitro fertilization has been perfected,” Mr. Vigne said.