Scientific Breakthrough May Save 2 Remaining Northern White Rhinos From Extinction

Scientific breakthrough may save northern white rhino through surrogacy
www.washingtonpost.com...

NAIROBI — Scientists have made history by successfully transferring a rhinoceros embryo for the first time, conservationists announced Wednesday...

Only two females exist in the world, Najin and daughter Fatu, and both are unable to carry pregnancies.

Najin, left, and her daughter Fatu, the last two living northern white rhinos, at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in northern Kenya.

Najin and Fatu live at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy, which was also home to Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, which died in 2018.

Wildlife ranger Joseph Wachira comforts Sudan, the last living male northern white rhino, moments before he passed away in March 2018 at Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy.

In 2019, scientists harvested oocytes — developing eggs — from Fatu and Najin, flying them to Avantea, a lab in Italy where they used the sperm of dead northern white rhinos for artificial insemination.

The eggs were fertilized, with two resulting in viable embryos. A third embryo was created in 2020 using the same technique. There are now 30 embryos from the northern white rhinos that can be used to produce babies, and all are oocytes from Fatu...

There are now 30 embryos from the northern white rhinos that can be used to produce babies, and all are oocytes from Fatu.

This story is both sad but raises hope that there has been a serious effort to prevent the extinction of yet another species of wild life on this planet. I feel digusted that animal poaching exists and continues to harm the innocent lives of some of the most beautiful animals on this planet.

Prior to this story I didn't have a clue only two white rhinos were left on this planet...and most people on this planet will never know or will never care. It just shows that when stories like this don't make MSM, people that may care will continue to be *edit: misinformed* on this subject. Let's pray that this species can be rebooted once again.

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Wild animals? They don't look so wild to me in the photos provided. They look like they are in cages. But I get that because if they really were wild they would be dead already due to big game hunters who don't give a crap about saving species, right?

But what do you mean by this.

It just shows that when stories like this don't make MSM, people that may care will continue to be woke on this subject.

The story you provide does come from the mainstream media, it's the Washington Post, as mainstream a publication as one can find. But what do you mean by people being woke? I don't understand what woke has to do with this in the way you are using the word.

originally posted by: BingoMcGoof
a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Wild animals? They don't look so wild to me in the photos provided. They look like they are in cages. But I get that because if they really were wild they would be dead already due to big game hunters who don't give a crap about saving species, right?

But what do you mean by this.

It just shows that when stories like this don't make MSM, people that may care will continue to be woke on this subject.

The story you provide does come from the mainstream media, it's the Washington Post, as mainstream a publication as one can find. But what do you mean by people being woke? I don't understand what woke has to do with this in the way you are using the word.

They used to be wild until they almost got poached to extiction.

What I meant by stories like this not making MSM as headlines! Usually when there is a breakthrough it should be headlined? But I guess most MSM outlets are going for sensationalism or ratings these days so they go with political news instead.

As far as woke...yup, you're right...wrong word to use...I'll edit that out...should be misinformed, my bad

Sounds horrible, but I would say let poachers be hunted for sport.

Fitting punishment for a loss of animals that may still be thriving today without them.

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Last night's local AND national news focused on story after story of sports playes and retiring coaches.
There was a quick mention of the Houthis and a Trump sweep, but not much else.

Oh! They did mention how important it is to vaccinate against the new variant.

Meanwhile, there are farmers protesting around the world with millions turning out and not a single mention.

Over 60% of newly homeless people in the last two years are Boomers who can nolonger afford increasing rents and utilities on their fixed incomes, but I guess that's not newsworthy enought to report on.

I've been following the sad plight of white rhinos for a long time. I sure hope they-and other endangered species-can be saved from extinction. Animals are benificial-no, vital- to the earths ecosystem, unlike mankind.

originally posted by: BingoMcGoof
a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Wild animals? They don't look so wild to me in the photos provided. They look like they are in cages. But I get that because if they really were wild they would be dead already due to big game hunters who don't give a crap about saving species, right?

But what do you mean by this.

It just shows that when stories like this don't make MSM, people that may care will continue to be woke on this subject.

The story you provide does come from the mainstream media, it's the Washington Post, as mainstream a publication as one can find. But what do you mean by people being woke? I don't understand what woke has to do with this in the way you are using the word.

Don't you have anything better to do than to nitpick at what the OP said ? You barely acknowleged what was shared , nor do you seem to care . I had to contain myself not to start crying , as that's the only thing that still makes me feel anything , animals/kids being hurt or in danger of extinction in this case.

a reply to: ScarletDarkness

God bless you...thank you

We saved them even though they will probably have shorter life spans along with a multitude of health issues from being severely inbred…but we saved them.

a reply to: ScarletDarkness

So first, these two white rhinos are not wild animals as there are only two left in the world, both are females and there are NO males. Neither the mother or the daughter can carry a fetus to term. Were these ''pets'' left to live in the wild they would be dead and gone so let's dispense with that notion, that they are wild.

There are no longer any males. Humans harvested sperm from previous males and have kept them under protection. Humans have also harvested eggs and now have thirty viable empryos that can be placed in other rhinos and brought to term.

And how do you suppose that these babies will be raised, let loose in the wild? No, they will be raised by humans and closely cared for so that eventually, if enough of them survive, they will be farmed out to zoos around the world. And I betcha some of those zoos will be on the properties of the very very rich who can afford to run animal preserves. Any offspring from these human controlled pregnancies will become pets and will never run wild, ever.

So yes, it's a shame that hunters and poachers are killing these great creatures. These and others around the world. Would you like to make a list with me?

Ever see the old movie ''Bless the Beasts and the Children''? It depicts the low mentality of humans who hunt animals. If not, though it is dated it makes the point very well.

Meanwhile at least one of Trump's boys prides himself on being a big game hunter having numerous photos of himself posing with his kills. Want to find issue with unfeeling humans, take it out on him.

a reply to: BingoMcGoof

It's poachers that do the most damage.

Big game hunters are the sole source of funding for preserves and conservation efforts in most of the those areas.

originally posted by: BingoMcGoof
a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Wild animals? They don't look so wild to me in the photos provided. They look like they are in cages. But I get that because if they really were wild they would be dead already due to big game hunters who don't give a crap about saving species, right?

But what do you mean by this.

It just shows that when stories like this don't make MSM, people that may care will continue to be woke on this subject.

The story you provide does come from the mainstream media, it's the Washington Post, as mainstream a publication as one can find. But what do you mean by people being woke? I don't understand what woke has to do with this in the way you are using the word.

I believe what was meant initially by the OP is that MSM didn't report on the fact that the last male rhino had died and only two females were left that could not carry a pregnancy...not this MSM report which is about efforts to save a species from extinction. Two different stories there. I'm not sure about the context of the woke remark.

It's a sad and doom-filled world for Earth's animals.

a reply to: quintessentone

It's a sad and doom-filled world for Earth's animals.

And always has been. We know this. Grand extinctions and small. Critters wiped out by other critters killing their own bio support groups. This is a brutish reality we appear to be the the worst of it. Much of this I think comes from at least one of the worlds great religions that from it's first book basically says ''go out and do what you want because it's all yours to so with what you wish. Domininism, right?

And even as we are animals ourselves, killing for food we have also turned it into sport and childish, ''look what I killed today''games. Yet at the same time there are those of us who think differently, thinking that we should be the caretakers which I suppose might lead to nothing more than all critters other than ourselves becoming pets. I say pets I mean zoos and preserves, it almost seems inevitable. But efforts still worth applauding.

Yet still more thoughts. And what is the difference between the last few white rhinos and the millions of chickens kept in cages their whole lives just so Popeye can fry'em up and sell their parts. How is one worse than the other. How about the huge cow herds keep in captivity so that McD can make another burger. Is it that those critters are replenished automatically to keep the food sources filled?

And as for the media coverage, well, I've seen plenty of msm coverage on dwindling species. News reports and commercials and such and nature programs decrying the loss of biodiversity, all on MSM. And again this very article was brought to us by a major pulp.

And to what end. Will a small group of white rhinos be keep alive in captivity or in preserves so that our grand children, if they can afford it can travel to those places to see ''nature''? Or even then watch a video of those zoos ?

Will it change? Can it? Attempts have been made by groups and laws have been passed and what happens? Hunters and others that want to continue to hunt and fish cry baby tears because of the protections in place for the spotted owl or the Chinook salmon and all the others that some have tried to save, some successfully and others not.

And what do we have now that this article on the rhinos has been presented. What we have is a focal point for some to just go, ''oh boo hoo, look at how caring we are'' and then what.

Is there a solution? Maybe if we took Trump Jr. and publicly took away all of his hunting rifles and then put him in prison for being a sport hunter, maybe that would help. Nah, that would only cause more outcry. Maybe Trump and Biden could take a small percentage of the money they are spending on this joke of an election and put that money to catching poachers and illegal animal slaughter and changing the mindset towards sport hunting then something might change.

But until we do and do something dramatic I will not cry for the rhino because the rhino is just one more species that will die because there just ain't room in this world to share with the wildest species of all, the human species.

Edit. I guess it's clear that ya caught me on a sour morning huh?

a reply to: BingoMcGoof

Edit. I guess it's clear that ya caught me on a sour morning huh?

Jusified, I think when it comes to all that you posted.

Genetic cataloging will resurrect these animals when people stop killing them for their horns. Magic and backward thinking drove a lot of animals to extinction. a reply to: Skywatcher2011