Northern White Rhino

[Lisbeth]

.... and a few others

Wasn't Sudan the last one Maybe they have harvested the sperm earlier

[Richprins]

Must be! Very important otherwise it may be a bit of a genetic inbreeding nightmare...

[Lisbeth]

On one hand, I hope that they will succeed, on the other hand, I hope that they will not because it would be the beginning of who knows what

[Richprins]

They seem to do ok, remember all the SA white rhino came from a few Imfolozi individuals!

[Lisbeth]

If they limit it to cases like this one. Scientists have been talking of trying to "make" a dinosaur

[Klipspringer]

[Lisbeth]

[Klipspringer]

https://www.avantea.it/fileadmin/user_u ... nal_EN.pdf

Press Release (Press Embargo: Sept. 11th, 2019; 11.00 a.m. CEST)
First ever in-vitro embryos may mark the turn of the
tide in the fate of the nearly extinct northern white
rhino
For decades the story of the northern white rhinoceros has been a tale of
decline. The number of individuals shrank down to only two in 2018, rendering
complete extinction as only a matter of time. An international consortium of
scientists and conservationists has now achieved a milestone in assisted
reproduction that may be a pivotal turning point in the fate of these
magnificent animals. Using eggs collected from the two remaining females and
frozen sperm from deceased males, they successfully created two northern
white rhino embryos. The embryos are now stored in liquid nitrogen to be
transferred into a surrogate mother in the near future.
The in-vitro creation of northern white rhino embryos was achieved at Avantea
Laboratories in Cremona, Italy. Prof. Cesare Galli and his team matured and
fertilized eggs collected on August 22nd from Najin and Fatu, the two females
living at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, with sperm from males Suni and Saut.
“We brought ten oocytes back from Kenya, five from each female. After
incubation seven matured and were suitable for fertilisation (four from Fatu
and three from Najin)”, says Galli. “Fatu’s eggs were injected with Suni’s sperm
while Najin’s eggs were injected with Saut’s sperm using a procedure called
ICSI (Intra Cytoplasm Sperm Injection). Saut’s semen was of really poor quality
and we had to thaw additional samples to find viable sperms for ICSI. After ten
days of incubation, two of Fatu’s eggs developed into viable embryos that
were cryopreserved for future transfer. Najin’s eggs did not make it to a viable
embryo despite the fact that one egg initiated segmentation.”
This procedure was made possible by a previous milestone achieved at Ol
Pejeta three weeks ago. Scientists were able to collect oocytes (immature
eggs) from both Najin and Fatu for the first time ever. The successful egg
collection was a joint effort by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife
Research (Leibniz-IZW), Avantea, Dvůr Králové Zoo, Ol Pejeta Conservancy and
the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Immediately after the collection the eggs
were air-lifted to the Avantea Lab in Cremona. “The entire team has been
developing and planning these procedures for years”, says Prof. Thomas
Hildebrandt from Leibniz-IZW. “Today we achieved an important milestone on
a rocky road which allows us to plan the future steps in the rescue program of
the northern white rhino”.
The entire process is part of the “BioRescue” research project. Its goal is to
significantly advance assisted reproduction techniques (ART) and stem cell
associated techniques (SCAT) complemented with a comprehensive ethical
assessment for the benefit of the northern white rhinoceros. The consortium is
partially funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
(BMBF) and comprises of internationally renowned institutions from Germany,
Italy, Czech Republic, Kenya, Japan and USA. BioRescue aims to prevent the
extinction of the northern white rhino.
The ethical assessment of the entire programme and each individual
procedure carried out by the BioRescue scientists is a crucial part of the
programme. “Breaking new ground automatically implies new questions
arising from the new possibilities that we have”, explains BioRescue project
head Hildebrandt. “For the egg collection from Najin and Fatu we developed a
dedicated ethical risk analysis in order to prepare the team for all possible
scenarios of such ambitious procedures and to make sure that the welfare of
the animals involved is totally respected”, says Barbara de Mori, the
conservation and animal welfare ethics expert from Padua University. “And we
carried out a dedicated ethical risk analysis focusing on the quality and security
of all the procedures that took place at Avantea”.
“Five years ago it seemed like the production of a northern white rhino
embryo was almost unachievable goal – and today we have them. This
fantastic achievement of the whole team allows us to be optimistic regarding
our next steps. In coming months we need to optimize the process of transfer
and following development of an embryo in a body of a surrogate mother. The
technique for collection of eggs was developed in cooperation with many
European zoos and we are happy that this unique cooperation can continue
even with attempts at successful embryo transfer”, says Jan Stejskal, Director
of Communication and International Projects from Dvůr Králové Zoo, where
Najin and Fatu were born.
It was the partnership between Dvůr Králové Zoo, Ol Pejeta Conservancy and
Kenya Wildlife Service that led to the translocation of Najin, Fatu and two male
northern white rhinos from the Czech Republic to Kenya in December 2009 –
ultimately leading to the international collaboration that now achieved the
turn of the tide in the fate of the northern white rhino. “This is a major step
forward in our efforts to recover the northern white rhinos. All concerned are
to be hugely congratulated. We have a very long way to go and we most
remember that for most species facing extinction, the resources that are being
dedicated to saving the northern whites simply don’t exist. Global human
behaviour still needs to radically change if the lessons of the northern white
rhinos are to be learned,” says Richard Vigne, Managing Director of Ol Pejeta
Conservancy.
“The Kenyan government is greatly encouraged by breaking of new ground in
the assisted reproduction technique and remains committed to facilitating the
pioneering process all the way. It has been decade of race against time and we
are excited at the progress in reversing the hitherto bleak outlook for the
northern white rhino,” says Hon. Najib Balala, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for
Tourism and Wildlife.
“The pioneering in vitro embryos of the northern white rhino is a strong
testament to what committed partnership can achieve in pushing the frontiers
of science to save a creature from extinction,” says Brig. (Rtd) John Waweru,
the Director General of Kenya Wildlife Service.
Well-established, inspiring partnerships are a key to the success of the
BioRescue project. The consortium is happy and proud to announce a longterm partnership with Merck.
“The news that two viable northern white rhino
embryos have been conceived is a significant step towards saving the species
from extinction. At Merck, we are proud to be a part of this ambitious project
and we are committed to our close and long-term partnership with the
consortium to safeguard biodiversity for many years to come. We are in it
together to give the project the best chance of success”, said Jan Kirsten,
Global Head Business Franchise Fertility at Merck. “As experts in fertility, we
are passionate about bringing our expertise to this collaboration.”
The support of additional funding from companies and private donors will help
to win our race against time and is a fundamental contribution to save
biodiversity and to take environmental responsibility.
All consortium partners are working hand in hand to save the northern white
rhino form extinction.

[Klipspringer]

I hope that these millions of dollars spend on the resurrection will lead to the re-establishment of a wild viable population, otherwise better use some millions to protect the endangered wild populations

[Richprins]

I'm sure they will keep them in zoos/paddocks for many years while they breed, Klippies!