04/09/2025
🦏 Only two northern white rhinos remain on Earth — and they live under the protection of armed guards 24/7.
Both are female.
Scientists have created 38 embryos using IVF, offering a slim but historic chance at revival. The effort could transform how we save critically endangered species worldwide.
A new National Geographic documentary, The Last Rhinos: A New Hope, chronicles this unprecedented mission.
Najin and her daughter Fatu are the final living members of their subspecies, their existence a powerful symbol of how close humanity has come to losing them forever.
With no surviving males, natural reproduction is no longer possible. But in a last-ditch effort to rewrite extinction, scientists are using groundbreaking IVF techniques to bring them back—harvesting eggs from Fatu and fertilizing them with preserved s***m from deceased males. To date, 38 embryos have been created, waiting for the right moment and the right surrogate.
In 2023, a southern white rhino surrogate named Curra made history when she became pregnant with the first northern white rhino embryo. Tragically, she died just 70 days in, ending the pregnancy. Yet the team presses on, knowing the stakes are far greater than just one species. Success here could open new doors for other critically endangered animals, like the Javan and Sumatran rhinos, both teetering on the edge with fewer than 50 left. But scientists are clear: technology alone cannot undo the damage caused by poaching, habitat loss, and human indifference. Saving the northern white rhino means changing how we value life on this planet.
Source: The Last Rhinos: A New Hope, National Geographic, 2025.
