A couple of months earlier, scientists with the BioRescue consortium implanted the 13-year-old southern white rhino, with two southern white rhino embryos, hoping that she would become a surrogate mother. Never before had a rhino been impregnated via in vitro fertilisation.

DNA analysis confirmed that the pregnancy was indeed the result of the embryo transfer, making it the world’s first IVF rhino pregnancy. This was particularly exciting as scientists realised that this could spark hope for another rhino species – the nearly extinct northern white rhino.

Photographer Ami Vitale, who has been documenting the rhinos’ plight for 15 years now, is excited about what the future may hold. “It’s almost like a miracle,” she said.

“The northern white rhinos are just gentle, hulking creatures. They’re sweet. They grew up in a zoo. They’re not wild.”

Najin and Fatu are the two remaining northern white rhinos living at Ol Pejeta Conservancy and are cared for, and protected, around the clock by armed workers. Both rhinos are unable to serve as surrogates due to a variety of medical conditions, but BioRescue, the NGO working to rescue the northern white rhino, intends to use southern white rhinos like Curra as surrogates.

It believes the two subspecies share enough similarities to work, and after Curro fell pregnant following IVF, this hope is alive and well.

[image:olpejetaconservancy.org] 

BioRescue has been producing northern white embryos using Fatu eggs and sperm gathered and preserved from males before their death. According to Stejskal, the BioRescue project coordinator, there are already 30 northern white embryos, and more are being produced.