Tech can help endangered animals? RHI-NOT!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Rhinos are at risk of extinction! Could in vitro fertilization, or IVF, save the day??
Enter Thomas Hildebrandt and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research.
They collected unfertilized eggs from rhinos and fertilized them in a lab! They also fertilized eggs from the extinct Northern white rhinoceros!
Researchers analyzed over fifty egg retrieval IVF procedures, with attention to health, age, and season of donors.
And? It was easiest to get eggs in spring and summer, and during rainy seasons. Thankfully, there were no negative health effects of repeated egg retrievals.
Results? Over fifty early stage rhino embryos! This makes possible future generations of live offspring possible!
RHI-NO they’re onto something here!
Reference: Hildebrandt, T. B., Holtze, S., Colleoni, S., Hermes, R., Stejskal, J., Lekolool, I., Ndeereh, D., Omondi, P., Kariuki, L., Mijele, D., Mutisya, S., Ngulu, S., Diecke, S., Hayashi, K., Lazzari, G., de Mori, B., Biasetti, P., Quaggio, A., Galli, C., & Goeritz, F. (2023). In vitro fertilization program in white rhinoceros. Reproduction (Cambridge, England), 166(6), 383–399. https://doi.org/10.1530/REP-23-0087