Just to be clear, this is the northern white rhino that is near extinction.
They have plenty of sperm from the animal. The problem is that there are only two female northern white rhinos and both of them are two old to carry calves to term. Scientists are thinking of using artificial insemination to fertilize an egg from one of the females and then implant it into a southern white rhino female who can be a surrogate and carry the calf to term, but obviously this is incredibly complicated and nobody has done anything like this before.
Just to be clear, this is the northern white rhino that is near extinction.
They have plenty of sperm from the animal. The problem is that there are only two female northern white rhinos and both of them are two old to carry calves to term. Scientists are thinking of using artificial insemination to fertilize an egg from one of the females and then implant it into a southern white rhino female who can be a surrogate and carry the calf to term, but obviously this is incredibly complicated and nobody has done anything like this before.
Why did the scientist let this get so close to extinction?
Not that it's their fault I don't mean that. But why weren't they doing this when the female's weren't too old like say 10-15 years ago?
I'm guessing there wasn't a large captive population to do this with. And rhinos are supposed to be notoriously hard to breed in captivity, I think.
Yeah, people should have stepped in way earlier, but this is a part of the world where there was strife and wars, and the poaching was really bad. I think the conservationists are totally outgunned and out-funded versus the poachers. Rhinos didn't stand a chance.
I'm guessing there wasn't a large captive population to do this with. And rhinos are supposed to be notoriously hard to breed in captivity, I think.
Yeah, people should have stepped in way earlier, but this is a part of the world where there was strife and wars, and the poaching was really bad. I think the conservationists are totally outgunned and out-funded versus the poachers. Rhinos didn't stand a chance.
Artificial incrimination may not work. I read somewhere that Sudans sperm was not potent enough to do so.
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