Scientists hope to bring endangered white rhino back from the brink of extinction

Work has begun work to find a new way of saving the endangered Northern White Rhino with scientists aiming to use tissue taken from animal ovaries to produce large numbers of eggs in a laboratory setting - a method already successfully used in mice.

Previous breeding programmes had been successful in raising white rhino numbers but the animals were destroyed by poachers.

The world’s last remaining male died in 2018 leaving just two female rhinos, Najin and her daughter Fatu, neither of which are capable of producing offspring naturally.

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The ovarian tissue was obtained from a euthanised Southern White Rhino which provides the foundation for the work.

Dr Suzannah Williams of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health, said: "What is exciting about this research is that it could enable us to pull critically endangered species back from the brink by utilising ovarian tissue from old or injured animals to produce offspring."

Dr Williams added: ‘Some researchers are exploring the possibility of using the remaining Northern White Rhino sperm to cross-breed with Southern White Rhinos to create a hybrid population, but I think we should focus on preserving the Northern White Rhino as the unique species it is, and this project enables us to move directly towards this goal.

"If successful, this technique would be a powerful tool in the global effort to conserve endangered species."