This species is on the verge of extinction due to overfishing.

Special vaccination procedures could save the northern broad-mouthed rhino from extinction, as there are only two female species left in the world, researchers write. BBC.

Scientists are optimistic because they have successfully fertilized the southern broad-mouthed rhino, which is closely related to the endangered northern broad-mouthed rhino, through a procedure called in vitro fertilization (IVF), in which a laboratory-created embryo is implanted into a “surrogate mother” with the rhino. .

“The first successful embryo transplant into a rhinoceros is a big step,” said Susanne Holtze, a scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany, a member of the Biorescue project fighting to save the species.

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The northern rhinoceros once lived in large numbers in central Africa, but poaching, fueled by the demand for its horn, has decimated its wild numbers. The two remaining female specimens – Nagin and her daughter Fatu, who “retired” in 2021 – are closely guarded at Ol Pejeta Nature Reserve in Kenya. Because they are unable to reproduce, the species is technically extinct.

(The opening image shows the last two northern rhinos still alive. Image: Naveena Kottoor/DPA/dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP)