There are now only five northern white rhinos left on the planet – with very small hope of the species surviving.

It’s a very sad story to hear of a creature of such magnificence facing the possibility of extinction.

Scientists are desperately trying to save this rhino sub species through an IVF project. But with so few of them left alive, extinction is now a strong possibility, especially as there is only one male left and he is very old.

Eggs will now be carefully taken from the females and stored for the time being. Northern white rhino sperm is already being stored in Germany.

Artificial insemination could be a tricky process and experts have not yet decided how and when this might be carried out.

The remaining northern white rhinos are owned by the Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic. Jan Stejskal, from the zoo, told the BBC: “We can go for artificial techniques of reproduction, but they can really pose a risk to the animals. We do it only because they are the last of their kind.

“This still needs to be carefully discussed with the experts in the field, but in general we can say we decided to do a first step towards IVF.”

Northern white rhinos have been hunted for their horns and are not the only rhino species to face extinction. Charity Save the Rhino reports: “Worryingly several other rhino subspecies have also disappeared in recent years; the Western black rhino was declared extinct in 2011, and the Javan rhino also confirmed extinct in Vietnam during the same year.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31001941