Conservationists running out of time to save the species
Experts are considering drastic measures to save the northern white rhino, after one of only six remaining in the world has died.
Male rhino Angalifu died at the San Diego Zoo last week at the age of 44, putting the future of the species on shakier ground than ever. Only one male rhino now remains in the world.
Jan Stejskal from the Dvur Kralove Zoo in Czechoslovakia told the BBC that experts will do anything possible to save the species from extinction.
One option is in-vitro fertilisation. In autumn this year, a project was launched with the aim of harvesting eggs from the zoo's only female white rhino, Nabire. The rhino embryo will be created using sperm stored at the Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin.
However, Jan told the BBC it is a risky strategy: "We can go for artificial techniques of reproduction, but they can really pose a risk to the animals…You have to sedate them and you have to work inside them, so you have to be very careful. We do it only because they are the last of their kind. You can't just give up."
Northern white rhinos have been hunted to the brink of extinction for their valuable horns, which are made up of keratin - the same substance as human fingernails. Many cultures believe rhino horn to possess medicinal value. As a result, poaching has decimated the species to supply the thriving black market trade.
No white rhino calves have been born since 2000. The breeding programme received a serious blow in October this year when 34-year-old male Suni was found dead.
The species has not been seen in the wild for seven years - all remaining white rhinos are under human care. Three now reside at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, one at Dvur Kralove and one at the San Diego Zoo.
Image ©Wikipedia/Chris Eason/CC BY-2.0
