There are only 2 northern white rhinos left, how to save them?

There are only two northern white rhinos left in the world, and scientists are working to save the species from extinction.

According to New Scientist magazine , much of the hope for the future of the northern white rhinoceros ( Ceratherium simum cottoni) is being placed on the last surviving members: Fatu and Najin , a mother-and-son rhinoceros pair who were annihilated. born. But because neither can get pregnant, experts are turning to genetic and reproductive innovations.

The last two northern white rhinos alive on Earth are being protected at a reserve in Kenya - (Photo: Ol Pejeta/DPA/TNS/Alamy Live News).

Researchers at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance in California looked at skin cells taken from 12 different northern white rhinos stored in the Frozen Zoo, an archive stores genetic material from more than a thousand different species.

They used computer modeling to see what it would look like if the genetic material from these rhinos were used to create sperm and egg cells, which were then turned into embryos and given to southern white rhinos. closely related ( Ceratherium simum simum ) "surrogate".

The team discovered that it was possible to restore the northern white rhino population over many generations without Fatu and Najin.

"The beauty of having this consistent gene pool in the Frozen Zoo is that we can continually get new individuals out and put them back into the population," said researcher Aryn Wilder at the Animal Alliance. wild San Diego Zoo said.

Their model revealed that after 10 generations, the northern white rhinos in these simulations were not inbred. Instead, they are a healthy, genetically diverse group. That's good news for the future of the subspecies because inbred animals tend to be more susceptible to disease and less likely to survive.

Wilder then compared the genes of the simulated rhinos with those of the southern white rhino, which has recovered from about 100 in the early 1900s to 20,000 today.

"Compared to the southern white rhino, the northern white rhino's genome actually has higher genetic diversity , " she said.

However, many challenges remain. Researchers still need to chemically stimulate these frozen skin cell lines into viable egg and sperm stem cells.

Additionally, there is no guarantee that southern white rhinos can successfully carry northern white rhino embryos.

Another way to rehabilitate white rhinos is through cloning: Stored cell lines can be used to create genetic copies of deceased animals .