Test tube rhinos: why rebuilding doomed species is a desperate race against time
- In 2015, BioRescue, an international consortium of scientists, initiated an ambitious project to rebuild the northern white rhino through in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
- Recently, the scientists announced the first-ever rhino pregnancy through a lab-made embryo transferred into a surrogate southern white rhino.
Northern White Rhino
- The death of the last male northern white rhino in 2018 made its extinction inevitable.
- The northern white rhino was officially declared extinct in the wild in 2008 due to organised hunting for horns.
Challenges in the Process
- Surrogacy is the only option due to the inability of the remaining females to reproduce.
- Preparing a surrogate southern white female involves an elaborate process, including isolation and protection against bacterial infections.
- Identifying the fertile window for embryo implantation, known as oestrus, poses a significant challenge.
Genetic Viability Concerns
- Limited genetic diversity from eggs of two females and sperm from deceased zoo males poses challenges for a viable northern white population.
- Creating sperm and eggs from stem cells extracted from preserved tissue samples is a potential solution, but its success is uncertain in rhinos.
Behavioural Challenges in IVF Offspring
- While breakthroughs in IVF or stem cell technologies can produce northern white rhino calves, they lack the genetic hardwiring to behave as the species.
- The first IVF calves need to be raised by surviving northern white adults to learn social and behavioural skills critical for future generations.
- The urgency to produce IVF calves is emphasized by the limited lifespan of the surviving females.
- There are also concerns about resource allocation and whether the project addresses threats to the natural habitat of the species.
Prelims Takeaway
- In vitro fertilization (IVF)
- Surrogacy