SUDAN AND THE NORTHERN WHITE RHINO: A DISCUSSION POST FOR WILDWORKERS, 2018
SUDAN, the last living male Northern white rhinoceros, died on the 19th of March this year and made international headlines. Northern white rhinos (NWRs) are a sub-species of white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum, ssp cottoni), and have been extinct in the wild for some time following serious poaching and civil war in their range (1, 6). The individuals remaining in captivity were old and closely related, meaning that reproduction was problematic or unlikely and ran the risk of inbreeding (2). Many have stated they considered the sub-species to be functionally extinct for several years now, meaning their unique genetic diversity will be lost to the white rhino species as a whole (3)
However, scientists are hopeful the sub-species can be resurrected using advanced assisted reproduction techniques, such as IVF using eggs collected from the remaining females, cloning from tissue samples, and using a female Southern white rhino (SWR) as a surrogate mother for the pregnancy (3,7). Ol Pejeta conservancy (where the last NWRs were housed in Kenya) are currently fundraising for the research hoping to achieve this, with an ambitious target of £ 9.0 million (or around USD $ 12.7 million).
This is controversial: other NGOs involved in rhino conservation believe this may be a futile attempt, as assisted reproduction has so far been largely unsuccessful in rhinos (3). NGO Save the Rhino argue that focus and potential funding is better used on protecting other rhinos, such as the critically endangered Javan and Sumatran species (2).
In light of this information, I have three questions for you. Answer one or several if you like.
A. “Field conservation efforts by people in green and khaki, and not just boffins in white coats, need our support.”
Monitoring and research is vitally important to understanding a problem and finding solutions, but often costly, and may not have a direct immediate impact on species preservation when compared with on-the ground work such as anti-poaching. To what extent should we direct funding for conservation more towards practice as opposed to study?
B. “Prevention is better than cure.”
Had conservationists working on the NWRs accepted hybridisation with SWRs as an option several decades ago (a hybrid had successfully been produced in the 1970s), there would have been easily enough mates to prevent inbreeding and potentially boost numbers – and keep NWR DNA in the gene pool. However, hybridisation brings about its own problems, sacrificing the genetic integrity of subspecies and risking outbreeding depression. Should we start to consider hybridisation early in population declines to save overall genetic diversity or species as a whole?
C. “Jurassic Park is just a story so far – what’s dead is dead. Focus on the living.”
Ground-breaking, innovative and costly research is attempting to use cloning, assisted reproduction, and even genetic splicing to bring back extinct species such as the woolly mammoth and the Northern white rhinoceros. Success could revolutionise conservation, and such research often gains huge media and public traction. However, many are concerned it may be unsuccessful, or produce an animal that no longer has a living space in the modern world. Should we bother?
What do we think, Wildworkers?
Sources & further reading:
1 – http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/wildlife/rhinos/northern-white-rhinos/
2 – https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/thorny_issues/can_we_save_the_northern_white_rhino
4- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_white_rhinoceros
5 – https://www.gofundme.com/makearhino
