Scientists in Italy successfully fertilized eggs from the last two remaining northern white rhinoceroses, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The scientists used sperm collected from male rhinos before they died to fertilize seven of the 10 eggs that had been obtained last week.
Cesare Galli, the managing director of Avantea, the laboratory in Italy, told the Times that the outcome was better than expected.
“We were really able to do something no one before has been able to do,” said Jan Stejskal, the director of international projects at the Dvur Kralove Zoo who also worked on the project.
“We still don’t know whether we’ll have embryos, but it was successful anyway. We proved that there is a real chance for them to have offspring.”
The survival of the northern white rhino species has been in flux since the last male of the species died last year.
Scientists will now search for a suitable female rhino that can carry the eggs to term, according to the Times.
