In A First, Scientists Use IVF To Save The Northern White Rhino From Extinction, 2 Embryos Created

Decades of poaching decimated the species of the northern white rhino but there's still hope. All thanks to conservationists who have successfully created two northern white rhino embryos in a bid to save the near-extinct species.

AP

In a press statement, the researchers noted that the first ever in-vitro embryos may mark the turn of the tide in the tale of nearly extinct northern white rhino, reports AP.

¡°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,¡± said Thomas Hildebrandt of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany.

AP

The embryos were created at Avantea Laboratories in Cremona, Italy, and will be stored in liquid nitrogen until the team is ready to transfer them to the surrogate mother.

According to an AP report, Professor Cesare Galli and his team matured and fertilized eggs collected on August 22 from Najin and Fatu, the last two females in the world, who live at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, with sperm previously collected from males Suni and Saut.

It is with great sadness that Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the Dv?r Kr¨¢lov¨¦ Zoo announce that Sudan, the world¡¯s last male northern white rhino, age 45, died at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya on March 19th, 2018 (yesterday). #SudanForever #TheLoneBachelorGone #Only2Left pic.twitter.com/1ncvmjZTy1

¡ª Ol Pejeta (@OlPejeta) March 20, 2018

"We brought 10 oocytes back from Kenya, five from each female. After incubation, seven matured and were suitable for fertilization," Galli told AP.

"We were really able to do something no one before has been able to do," said Jan Stejskal, director of international projects at Dvur Kralove Zoo. "We still don't know whether we'll have embryos, but it was successful anyway. We proved that there is a real chance for them to have offspring."

After being incubated, seven of those cells matured and were suitable for fertilisation. Two of the fertilised eggs developed into viable embryos.

¡°This is a major step forward in our efforts to recover the northern white rhinos,¡± said Richard Vigne, managing director of Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

There are five rhino species remaining on the Earth, of which black and white rhinos are found in Africa, reports Reuters.