An enthralling project to save the northern white rhino is raising challenging questions as scientists debate the ethics of de-extinction. Mattha Busby reports
Still standing: Najin and Fatu, whose egg cells were successfully harvested, at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy.Still standing: Najin and Fatu, whose egg cells were successfully harvested, at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy.
Parallel efforts to implant reproductive cells created from stems into females are also under way. “The alternative is to say goodbye,” says Dr Oliver Ryder, the director of conservation genetics at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. A Frozen Zoo run by the organisation contains living cells and embryos from 1,000 species, one of which, a bird called the, became extinct in 2004.
If they do manage to accomplish such an astonishing feat, they would face fresh ethical questions – why should an American company be able to resurrect a long lost mammoth and let it loose in the Arctic where its potential effects on the ecosystem are unknown? Afantasy could swiftly become a nightmare. Even though Church has claimed it would not be complicated to “dial back” any release.
Yet the impressive conservation success behind the recovery of the southern white rhino gives its fans hope. A century ago, the species declined to less than 100, centred in only one part of South Africa after being hunted to near extinction by Dutch and British settlers. Today, they number about 15,000 across protected areas and private game reserves where they are hunted, but also managed to ensure their population remains stable.
“We get so excited about creating new things, but completely neglect to think about value in other ways.” Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg.Efforts are also afoot in Malaysia to save the Sumatran rhino after the last male, Kertam, died in 2019. Using his skin cells, stem cells and brain organoids have successfully been created.
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