Scientists Make New Embryo of Rare Rhino Species
2020-01-17
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1Researchers say they have successfully created another embryo of the northern white rhino.
2The animal risks disappearing forever. Just two remain, and both are female.
3This new, viable embryo is the third of its kind.
4To make the embryo, scientists used eggs from one of the surviving females.
5They inseminated the eggs with frozen cells from dead males.
6The embryos are stored in a cool liquid that protects them.
7They will be put into a surrogate mother - a southern white rhino - in the coming months.
8The Kenya Wildlife Service and officials from Kenya, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy made a statement about the success.
9Kenya's wildlife minister, Najib Balala, called the ability to stop the loss of the northern rhino "amazing."
10The goal is to create a group of at least five animals that could return to their natural environment.
11This process could take many years.
12The two remaining female northern white rhinos, Najin and Fatu, live in Kenya.
13Fatu's eggs made all three viable embryos.
14Thomas Hildebrandt is with the Leibniz Institute for Zoo & Wildlife Research in Germany.
15"Now the team will make every effort to achieve the same result for the 30-year-old Najin before it is too late for her," he said.
16The operation is safe and can be performed regularly before the animals become too old, the statement said.
17The next step is to choose female southern white rhinos among those at Kenya's Ol Pejeta Conservancy to serve as a surrogate mother, Kenya's wildlife minister said.
18Years of humans killing the animals illegally have severely reduced the number of rhinos.
19The last male northern white rhino was a 45-year-old named Sudan.
20In 2017, Sudan became famous when he appeared on an online service that connects possible romantic partners.
21The service, called Tinder, listed the rhino as "The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World."
22The title was part of a fundraising effort.
23Sudan, named for the country where he was born, died in 2018.
24I'm John Russell.
1Researchers say they have successfully created another embryo of the northern white rhino. The animal risks disappearing forever. Just two remain, and both are female. 2This new, viable embryo is the third of its kind. 3To make the embryo, scientists used eggs from one of the surviving females. They inseminated the eggs with frozen cells from dead males. 4The embryos are stored in a cool liquid that protects them. They will be put into a surrogate mother - a southern white rhino - in the coming months. 5The Kenya Wildlife Service and officials from Kenya, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy made a statement about the success. Kenya's wildlife minister, Najib Balala, called the ability to stop the loss of the northern rhino "amazing." 6The goal is to create a group of at least five animals that could return to their natural environment. This process could take many years. 7The two remaining female northern white rhinos, Najin and Fatu, live in Kenya. Fatu's eggs made all three viable embryos. 8Thomas Hildebrandt is with the Leibniz Institute for Zoo & Wildlife Research in Germany. "Now the team will make every effort to achieve the same result for the 30-year-old Najin before it is too late for her," he said. 9The operation is safe and can be performed regularly before the animals become too old, the statement said. 10The next step is to choose female southern white rhinos among those at Kenya's Ol Pejeta Conservancy to serve as a surrogate mother, Kenya's wildlife minister said. 11Years of humans killing the animals illegally have severely reduced the number of rhinos. 12The last male northern white rhino was a 45-year-old named Sudan. In 2017, Sudan became famous when he appeared on an online service that connects possible romantic partners. The service, called Tinder, listed the rhino as "The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World." The title was part of a fundraising effort. 13Sudan, named for the country where he was born, died in 2018. 14I'm John Russell. 15Cara Anna reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. 16________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18viable - adj. technical : capable of living or of developing into a living thing 19inseminate - v. technical: to put semen into (a woman or a female animal) in order to cause pregnancy 20surrogate - adj. always used before a noun a person or thing that takes the place or performs the duties of someone or something else 21eligible - adj. suitable and desirable for marriage 22bachelor - n. a man who is not married 23fundraising - n. activity done to collect money for a political party, charity, school, etc. 24We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.