The precious population of southern white rhinos just added a history-making new clan member. On July 28, reproductive science researchers at the San Diego Zoo Global announced the arrival of Edward, the first southern white rhino calf born in North America through the process of artificial insemination. The birth of a healthy male rhino through IVF represents an important breakthrough in a Recovery Ecology project aimed at restoring rhino populations worldwide, including the functionally-extinct northern white rhino of which only two females, Najin and Fatu, are remaining following the death of the last male, Sudan, at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, in March 2018. With the help of six southern white rhino surrogates, including Edward’s mother Victoria, scientists at the Nikita Kahn Rhino Rescue Center eventually hope to create a sustainable crash, or herd, of northern white rhinos as part of a collaborative effort to save this iconic animal.
Of the five species of rhinoceros living today, which include black, white, Sumatran, Indian, and Javan, southern white rhinos are the least endangered. From a historic low of 100 individuals in the early 1900s, through dedicated conservation efforts over the last century the population has grown to an estimated 21,000 animals in the wild, and close to 700 in zoos globally. The majority of southern white rhinos live in South Africa, but they can also be found in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya—and now a wobbly, little one in California. You can learn more about the ongoing initiatives focused on restoring rhinos to their rightful place in the wild from Save the Rhino International.
Update:
Ol Pejeta has announced more exciting progress on the road to rhino restoration! On August 22nd, veterinarians at the Conservancy successfully harvested a total of ten eggs from Najin and Fatu to create embryos for implantation into southern white rhino surrogates. On August 25th, seven out of ten donated eggs were successfully inseminated with frozen “donations” from Suni and Saut, two northern white rhino bulls. If this groundbreaking IVF procedure results in the development of viable embryos, we’ll be one step closer to reconstituting a sustainable population of northern white rhinos.
