Die weltweit erste IVF-Schwangerschaft eines Nashorns könnte eine Art retten, von der nur noch zwei lebende Tiere übrig sind

by Free_Swimming

15 comments

  1. let bygones be bygone. These species go extinct, not because we kill them (well we kinda do in some cases) but because we destroy their habitats.

    As long as we don’t fix that, nothing will change.

  2. Surely there’s not enough genetic diversity to have the species survive.

  4. Since most people won’t make it to Africa, if you ever have the chance to visit San Diego, both the Zoo and the Safari park (formerly known as the Wild Animal Park or WAP, which makes me laugh) are both worth a visit. Both parks are great for all ages and the money goes to great research and conservation efforts worldwide!

    They also sell booze… nothing like enjoying a slushy margarita while watching animals on a hot day 🙂

    Anyway, this is actually relevant because the San Diego Zoological Society partners with this program and plan of eventually using the technology to breed more rhinos in San Diego. They have the best breeding program in captivity ([sauce](https://sdzsafaripark.org/animals/african-rhinos))

    Also, a herd of rhinos is called a Crash.

  5. No it will not.

    But it will be a useful test case to establish procedures for doing this with other species that still have a chance.

    And that still makes this extremely important

  7. Quick background: the northern white rhinoceros is a *sub*species of rhinoceros. Which means if worse comes to worse they could cross-breed with the less critically endangered southern white rhinos.

    [Conservation scientists saved sperm from northern white rhino individuals who are no longer alive](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52228181). It’s taken a long time to achieve successful IVF because none of this is easy.

    So genetic diversity isn’t quite the bottleneck some commenters quip about it being.

  8. I’ve petted the older of these two rhinos, and her mouth felt like marshmellows 😍

  9. Bro imagine the pressure of trying to turn someone down for sex and them being able to truthfully say, “Well I’m literally the only option.”

  12. Might get hate for this, but trying to save the northern white rhinos is a waste of time and money.

    They should have just combined the last of their population with the southern white rhinos years ago.

  14. No it can’t. The species has gone below the threshold for sufficient genetic diversity to healthily continue breeding.

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