The research team took an embryo from the closely related subspecies, southern white rhinoceros, and placed it in a surrogate mother of the same subspecies.
The surrogate mother died of a bacterial infection 70 days into the pregnancy, unrelated to the pregnancy process. However, the fetus had developed as expected and the researchers calculated that it would have had a 95 percent chance of survival, if the mother had survived, writes the BBC.
The last male of the northern white rhinoceros died in 2018, and today only two females remain. The problem is that neither of the two females can give birth to a calf.
The northern embryo will therefore have to be placed in a southern surrogate mother in future attempts. Thus, in vitro fertilization across subspecies boundaries, something that has never been done before.
- We are doing everything necessary to ensure that these animals do not disappear from the face of the earth, says Samuel Mutisya, head of research at the Ol Pejeta nature reserve in Kenya.