Pandemic stalls fertilisation of rare white rhinos

Groundbreaking work to keep alive nearly extinct rrn white rhi subspecies - population, two - by in-vitro fertilisation have been halted due to travel restrictions imposed because of coronavirus pandemic.

goal is to create viable embryos in a lab by inseminating ir eggs of two females with frozen sperm from de males, n transfer m into a surrogate mor, a more common sourn white rhi.

As of January, three embryos h been created and stored in liquid nitrogen at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, but furr key steps w have to wait.

It's an international effort that includes conservationists from Kenya, Czech Republic, Germany and Italy, many affected by closed borders or restricted travel.

For those involved in effort, acutely aware of time, delay can be painful.

procedure to create viable embryos has proven to be safe, y say, and can be performed regularly before animals become too old.

Because those eggs are limited, scientists are working with embryos from sourn white rhis until y can establish a successful pregnancy.

Deces of poaching have taken a heavy toll on rhi species.

animals are killed for ir horns, which have long been used as carving material and prized in tritional Chinese medicine for ir supposed healing properties.

last male rrn white rhi was a 45-year-old named Sudan, who gained fame in 2017 when he was listed as " Most Eligible Bachelor in World" on Tinder dating app as part of a fundraising effort. He was euthanized in 2018 because of -related ills.