Africa: New Embryos, Surrogate Mothers Added to Northern White Rhino Rescue Project

Harare — In the Northern White Rhino rescue initiative, five more embryos and surrogate moms have been introduced.

The BioRescue group, an international project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (officially abbreviated BMBF), has achieved notable strides toward its end goal in the four years from the inception of this ambitious effort to prevent the extinction of the Northern White Rhino.

At least 29 northern white rhino embryos have been generated and cryopreserved using cutting-edge assisted reproductive technology, and are now prepared for transfer to a surrogate mother. Most recently, in May 2023, a female of the Fatu subspecies was harvested for her 18 eggs. Five additional embryos were produced as a consequence, which is the most embryos to date from any collection.

Two separate bulls contributed sperm to the fertilization process, increasing genetic variety. The BMBF provides the majority of funding for the BioRescue research project.

One of the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros, the other being the southern white rhinoceros, is the northern white rhinoceros. This subspecies, which was formerly present in various nations in East and Central Africa south of the Sahara, grazes in grasslands and savanna woods.