First in History, IVF Breakthrough Could Revive Nearly Extinct Rhino
- VIVA.co.id/Arianti Widya
Kenya –In a first, scientists have achieved a rhinoceros pregnancy through in vitro fertilization (IVF) – an innovative technique that could be the key to saving the northern white rhino.
The critically endangered subspecies is on the brink of extinction, with a living population of just two individuals.
Researchers with the BioRescue project conducted the procedure with a southern white rhino, a closely related subspecies, by transferring a lab-made rhino embryo into a surrogate mother in Kenya.
Though the mother died seventy days into her term, after succumbing to an unrelated bacterial infection, her pregnancy has opened the door for the northern white rhino’s restoration.
Pertama kali dalam sejarah! Badak Putih Utara berhasil hamil dengan bayi tabung.
- AP News
Tissue harvested from the embryo revealed it was the result of the IVF procedure, providing the crucial “proof of concept” that the technique could be applied to restore other rhinos, says BioRescue project coordinator Jan Stejskal to National Geographic’s Dina Fine Maron.
“To achieve the first successful embryo transfer in a rhino is a huge step,” Susanne Holtze, a scientist at Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany said, as reported from BBC site.
“Now I think with this achievement, we are very confident that we will be able to create northern white rhinos in the same manner and that we will be able to save the species,"
The northern white rhino population has been decimated amid aggressive poaching, driven by rampant demand for the animals’ horns. The only individuals left - two elderly females - live under strict surveillance in Kenya.
“This animal played a crucial role in a complex ecosystem before it got extinct for a while,” said Thomas Hildebrandt, head of the project, to the Washington Post’s Rael Ombuor and Ami Vitale.
“It lived in the landscape and architecture of central Africa, bringing back the northern white rhino to this ecosystem will help to heal the ecosystem,"
