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For the past few years, the plight of the <keyword id="20353453" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="northern-white-rhinoceros" source="keywords">Northern White Rhinoceros</keyword> has been a stark reminder of the fragility of life. With only two females remaining, <keyword id="20353452" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="najin" source="keywords">Najin</keyword> and her daughter Fatu, this magnificent species teetered on the brink of extinction.<br /><br />Unable to reproduce naturally, their future seemed bleak. But amidst the despair, a glimmer of hope emerged in the form of science and conservation. Researchers had collected precious eggs from Fatu and frozen sperm from the last male, Sudan, creating a genetic bank that could potentially resurrect the species.<br /><br />And now, in a groundbreaking feat, scientists have achieved the world's first in-vitro fertilisation (<keyword id="19910347" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ivf" source="keywords">IVF</keyword>) <keyword id="6357793" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pregnancy" source="Orion">pregnancy</keyword> in a <keyword id="49308" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="rhino" source="Orion">rhino</keyword>ceros. Sadly, the pregnancy ended after 70 days due to a bacterial infection. However, this milestone marks a crucial step towards reversing the Northern White Rhino's tragic fate.<br /><br />The key lies in the Southern White Rhino, a close cousin with a healthy population of around 20,000. Their shared biology makes them ideal surrogate mothers for the Northern White embryos, as Professor <keyword id="20353450" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="thomas-hildebrandt" source="keywords">Thomas Hildebrandt</keyword>, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, explains: "We have a closely related recipient, so their internal map is nearly the same."<br /><br />Despite the initial setback, the team remains resolutely optimistic. "With this achievement, we are very confident that we will be able to create Northern White Rhinos in the same manner and that we will be able to save the species," says Dr <keyword id="20353451" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="susanne-holtze" source="keywords">Susanne Holtze</keyword>, a scientist involved in the project.<br /><br />The future of the Northern White Rhino remains uncertain, but the first IVF pregnancy has ignited a spark of hope. With unwavering dedication and the power of science, we might yet witness these magnificent creatures once again roam the African savannas.<br />

First successful IVF rhino pregnancy could save the Northern White Rhinoceros from certain extinction

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>Sudan, the last&#xa0;male northern white rhinoceros in the world, died on March 19.</strong></li><li><strong>Before he died, he was photographed by&#xa0;Tim Flach for his book "Endangered," which is the source of the above photo.</strong></li><li><strong>In that book Flach hopes to make readers and viewers confront our relationship with the end of these species.</strong></li><li><strong>Sudan's story, and the story of the northern white rhinoceros, is emblematic of how destructive that relationship can be.</strong></li></ul><p>The last male northern white rhinoceros in the world, named Sudan, died on March 19.</p><p>"He had been suffering from age-related health issues and from a series of infection," the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, where Sudan had lived since 2009, <a href="http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/sudan-a-tribute-to-an-icon/">said in a statement</a>. "Once his condition worsened significantly and he was unable to stand up and evidently, suffered a great deal, the decision to euthanise him was made by his veterinary team."</p><p>In his late years, Sudan was photographed by Tim Flach, who is known for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-flach-endangered-photos-animals-2017-11">photos that capture&#xa0;creatures' moods, expressions, and gestures</a> in ways that make us rethink our relationship with the natural world.</p><p>The photo above is from Flach's newest book&#xa0;"<a href="http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=35871X943606&amp;xs=1&amp;isjs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FEndangered-Tim-Flach%2Fdp%2F141972651X%3Ftag%3Dbisafetynet2-20&amp;xguid=0b94b09e85d9336d42521baec92db5ff&amp;xuuid=d880fa66eed5d98c3de04020e4abd5b4&amp;xsessid=&amp;xcreo=0&amp;xed=0&amp;sref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Ftim-flach-endangered-photos-animals-2017-11&amp;xtz=240">Endangered</a>", which includes text by zoologist Jonathan Baillie.</p><p>In that book, Flach and Baillie try to help readers consider how humanity has affected these animals.</p><p>The story is particularly stark for the northern white rhinoceros.</p><p>Of the final three of the species - Sudan, his daughter Najin, and his granddaughter Fatu - they write:</p><p>"Their ancestors roamed through Central Africa in herds, holding a population of around two thousand until the year 1960. By 1990, numbers had fallen to just twenty-five. Now, there are three."</p><p>And now, it's just the final two, both unable to carry offspring.</p><p>It's the story of the end of a species. As biologist Daniel Schneider put it in a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sudan-last-northern-white-rhino-daniel-schneider-what-extinction-looks-like-2017-11">photo that went viral</a> at the end of 2017, this is "what extinction looks like."</p><p>The end of the northern white rhinoceros is the same as the story that has made the black rhinoceros critically endangered - and which made other species, like the southern white rhinoceros, vulnerable.</p><p>Poachers kill them to saw off their keratin horns, which are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/biotech-startup-trying-to-stop-rhino-poaching-2016-9">sold for up to $60,000 per pound</a>&#xa0;and used to make carvings. They are also ground up to be sold as medicine to treat cancer, hangovers, and erectile disfunction, among other things (rhino horns can't actually do any of that).</p><p>Elephants, pangolins, and many other vulnerable species around the world are also threatened by poachers killing them for parts. And in the case of the rhinos, the stories are often particularly horrific. In 2016, about a thousand rhinos were killed for their horns in South Africa. In 2017, poachers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/07/rhino-shot-dead-by-poachers-at-french-zoo">broke into the Thoiry Zoo</a> in France, shot and killed a four-year-old southern white Rhino named Vince, and then sawed off his horn with a chainsaw.</p><p>To prevent that from happening, the staff at&#xa0;Ol Pejeta "systematically dehorned" Sudan, Najin, and Fatu, according to the "Endangered" writers.</p><p>As sad as the story is, there is a chance that the world could see a new northern white rhino born someday. It would be a technological achievement, relying on an egg from one of the females and frozen sperm of a deceased male, potentially carried by a southern white rhino in South Africa.</p><p>But before that happens, the world should end the conditions that lead to wanton extinction.</p><p>As Ol Pejeta staff asked in their statement, "How many more species that we share this earth with will fall the same way before we understand the enormity of what we are doing?"</p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-diamandis-how-silicon-valley-can-make-100-new-60-2018-2">What Silicon Valley is doing to make humans live longer</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div></hr>

The world's last northern white rhino, who showed 'what extinction looks like,' was captured in this stunning photo before he died

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First successful IVF rhino pregnancy could save the Northern White Rhinoceros from certain extinction

Ankush Banerjee

The world's last northern white rhino, who showed 'what extinction looks like,' was captured in this stunning photo before he died

Kevin Loria

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