We are pleased to announce the successful maturation and fertilization of two northern white rhino embryos. This development marks a turning point in the race to save the near extinction of the northern white rhino.
Ol Pejeta Conservancy
The two embryos were created using northern white rhino male eggs collected from Fatu, the youngest of the two northern white rhinos and Suni frozen sperm.
The embryos are now stored in liquid nitrogen and in the near future will be transferred to a female surrogate southern white rhino.
To make this procedure a reality, Fatu’s eggs were injected with Suni’s sperm while Najin’s eggs were injected with Saut’s sperm.
Saut’s semen was of really poor quality and scientists had to thaw additional samples to find viable sperms for the procedure.
Unfortunately, Najin’s eggs did not make it to a viable embryo despite the fact that one egg initiated segmentation.
This landmark effort was achieved at Avantea Laboratories in Cremona, Italy thanks to Prof. Cesare Galli and his team.
We have only gotten this far because of your unending support. To be part of the journey towards making a northern white rhino, go to https://donate.olpejetaconservancy.org/projects/sudan
