THIS IS OUR LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THE NORTHERN WHITE RHINO- ARE YOU IN?
You may have already heard about Sudan.
He’s one of four northern white rhino left in the world, and the last male of his species.
Now with the recent death of a northern white rhino in Czech Republic’s Dvůr Králové Zoo the extinction of the northern white rhino is a very real and very imminent probability.
None of the four are capable of natural reproduction, which is why it is imperative that we develop a technique for rhino IVF and embryo transfer that can be funded, developed, tested and implemented in time.
Three of the last northern white rhino reside in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, which is partnering with Dvůr Králové Zoo and other organisations to try and develop a way to safely remove egg cells from remaining females, fertilize these with semen collected from northern white males, and use a female southern white rhino as a surrogate.
This has never been done before, and does not come without risks. What’s more, if the remaining females die before this method has been developed, one of the last chances to save the northern white rhino will vanish.
The estimated cost of IVF and embryo transfer – from the development of the method, to trials and implantation is estimated at approximately £ 0.5m ($0.8m). Yet this is the only hope for preserving an entire subspecies.
Ol Pejeta and Dvůr Králové Zoo have launched a GoFundMe campaign entitled ‘Make a Rhino’ to try and raise the money needed to save the northern white rhino before it’s too late. All funds raised on the online platform go directly to the IVF initiative, and we are appealing to supporters around the globe to donate to the cause.
Are you in?
To make a donation and help save a species, visit Gofundme.com/makearhino.