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New Embryo Brings Northern White Rhino Total Produced to 39

Ultrasound equipment during a northern white rhino embryo transfer
Conservation · Restoration

Scientists working to prevent the disappearance of the northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), the northern subspecies of the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum), have produced another pure northern white rhino embryo. The embryo came from egg cells collected from Fatu at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya at the beginning of 2026 and brings the total number created by the BioRescue programme to 39. A “pure” northern white rhino embryo means that both the egg cell and the sperm came from northern white rhinos. The total of 39 refers to embryos produced so far, not to pregnancies or expected calves.

Only two northern white rhinos remain alive: Fatu and her mother Najin, both females. Natural reproduction is therefore no longer possible, and the effort to preserve the lineage depends on assisted reproduction. Eggs from Fatu are fertilised in the laboratory with frozen sperm from deceased northern white rhino males, while southern white rhinoceros females (Ceratotherium simum simum) are being prepared to act as surrogate mothers.

During the second half of 2025, the BioRescue team transferred three northern white rhino embryos into southern white rhino surrogate mothers at Ol Pejeta. None of the transfers resulted in a long-term pregnancy. Two additional southern white rhino females with proven reproductive histories have since been brought into the programme as potential surrogates.

BioRescue describes the production of the 39th embryo as another step in its effort to restore the subspecies using assisted reproduction and stem-cell technologies. Producing embryos is only the first part of that process: the immediate bottleneck is achieving a lasting pregnancy after transferring a northern white rhino embryo into a southern white rhino surrogate. The team emphasises that rhinoceros IVF and embryo transfer remain experimental procedures that continue to be refined as the work progresses.

Sources and image credit

  1. Ol Pejeta Conservancy. (2026, April 22). New embryo boosts survival chances for the Northern White Rhino.Primary project update reporting the 39th pure northern white rhino embryo and the ongoing surrogate programme.

Image: Kevin Kipruto/BioRescue — photograph from the 2026 BioRescue embryo-transfer work. The image shows the ultrasound equipment used during transfer of a northern white rhino embryo into a southern white rhino surrogate, directly illustrating the assisted-reproduction work behind the new embryo reported in this story. · Explicit reuse permission — remuneration-free use in connection with the BioRescue press release when the source is named · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

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