San Diego Zoo Global is asking the public to share its love for rhinos and other endangered wildlife by posting a “Show Us Your Heart” photo on their favorite Social Media channel.
In celebration of the forthcoming births of two southern white rhino calves at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Nikita Kahn Rhino Rescue Center — and the hope they bring for the ongoing effort to save the critically endangered northern white rhino—the goal is for thousands of people to raise their voices for rhinos worldwide by posting a photo using the hashtag #ShowUsYourHeart.
Victoria and Amani, two southern white rhinos at the Rhino Rescue Center, successfully became pregnant in 2018 through artificial insemination. This is an important step in the development of the scientific knowledge required to genetically recover the northern white rhino, a close relative of the southern white rhino. Only two northern white rhinos now remain on Earth, and unfortunately, both are female.
“We are following Victoria and Amani’s pregnancies very closely, continuing to gather critical information about fetal development and the endocrinology of rhino pregnancy,” said Barbara Durrant, Ph.D., Henshaw endowed director of Reproductive Sciences, San Diego Zoo Global.
“We do weekly ultrasounds on both Victoria and Amani, so we can follow the progress of the fetuses. Both fetuses are now so large we can no longer see full images of them, as they have moved over the pelvic rim, down into the abdomen. We are anxiously awaiting the births of these two rhino calves.”
The artificial inseminations occurred March 22, 2018, for Victoria and July 12, 2018, for Amani. Rhino gestation lasts for 16 to 18 months, so if Victoria and Amani are able to carry their pregnancies to term, the first southern white rhino calves born at the Rhino Rescue Center could arrive in July or August and September or October.
To reach the ultimate goal of successfully producing a northern white rhino, multiple steps must be accomplished. One of the first steps involved sequencing the genome of the northern white rhino to clarify the extent of genetic divergence from its closest relative, the southern white rhino. The analysis revealed that they are distinct subspecies.
Another step requires conversion of cells preserved from 12 individual northern white rhinos in the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research’s Frozen Zoo® to stem cells that could develop into sperm and eggs—a process successfully begun in the laboratory of Jeanne Loring, Ph.D., of The Scripps Research Institute, with details of the process published in 2011.
Reproductive options include artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, with southern white rhinos serving as surrogates for northern white rhino embryos. To accomplish this, the six southern white rhinos at the Rhino Rescue Center must first show they can carry a calf to term. The reproductive system of rhinos is very complex, and there is still much to be learned.
There are many challenges ahead, but researchers are optimistic that a northern white rhino calf could be born from these processes within 10 to 15 years. This work also may be applied to other rhino species, including critically endangered Sumatran and Javan rhinos.
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park has been fortunate to be able to provide the space and social structure necessary to encourage natural breeding of southern white rhinos, black rhinos and greater one-horned rhinos in zoos. Sadly, the challenges associated with limited gene pools and severely reduced numbers facing Javan rhinos, Sumatran rhinos and northern white rhinos mean that some form of assisted reproduction may be their only hope for the future.
A key element of the program at the Rhino Rescue Center is the ability of animal care staff to work closely with the rhinos, building positive relationships, so the rhinos participate voluntarily in procedures like artificial insemination and ongoing monitoring of pregnancies.
San Diego Zoo Global has been working on rhino conservation for more than 40 years. Rhinos are currently facing the worst poaching crisis in history, with an average of three southern white rhinos a day being killed in South Africa. At the current poaching rate, this rhino species could become extinct in 15 years. San Diego Zoo Global is committed to preventing this from happening.
“By asking everyone to show us your heart and spread the word that rhinos need our help, we can all be part of saving a species from extinction,” Durrant said.
For more information on the#ShowUsYourHeart Endangered Species Day online social media campaign, visit endextinction.org/heart.
— San Diego Zoo Global
