Hope for saving rare white rhino dim
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E-mail Xinhua, April 20, 2015
Artificial reproduction methods dim
In this 90,000 acre of conservancy, instead of wandering around on the vast savanna as before, Sudan now has been kept in enclosure for a year to avoid hurt from other rhinos, according to Doyo. Though guarded by armed rangers around the clock, the mammal's horns had also been trimmed for fear of poaching.
"He is like my own children. I would feel very sad if we lose it," said Doyo.
"Sudan could die tomorrow," said Vigne, noting that the last hope to save the rare species from complete distinction would be artificial reproduction methods.
One way is vitro fertilization: take eggs and sperms of northern white rhinos and create an embryo, which is then implanted into a female southern white rhino, hoping to get a northern white calf.
"However, this technology has never been done in rhinos before, and it is very expensive," said Vigne, adding that they would first develop the technique on southern white rhinos, and apply it on the northern white rhinos once there is enough money and the technique gets perfected.
"We need to raise money first, and we estimate it would take as long as two years before we can get a successful pregnancy with a pure northern rhino embryo," he said.
There is also another option, which will use some already stored semen of northern white rhinos in the world and crossbreed it with female southern white rhinos to get a hybrid. However, this means, if succeeds, it would not be a pure northern white rhino.
"It is not perfect, but it is better than nothing," Vigne lamented, calling on more efforts to save the rare rhino and other endangered wildlife.
"Poaching of rhinos across Africa still continues at a very high rate. If we as human race don't do something to stop it, what is happening now to the northern white rhino will happen to many other species," he said.
