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Latest News, Projects & Initiatives
Zoo Research Facilitates Translocation of Critically Endangered Black Rhinos Back to Northern Kenya
February 19, 2024
In a boost for rhino conservation, 21 critically endangered black rhinos were translocated back to Loisaba, northern Kenya, where they have been extinct for half a century. This translocation was facilitated by technology and research methodologies developed by Chester Zoo, as part of their long-term research into rhino hormone monitoring.
Breakthrough in Rhino Conservation with World’s First Successful
Embryo Transfer
January 31, 2024
🦏The international team of scientists from BioRescue Project achieved the world's first successful rhino pregnancy following an embryo transfer. Egg cells and sperm, collected from zoo-housed southern white rhinos, were used to produce an embryo in vitro. The embryo was transferred into a surrogate female southern white rhino. The pregnancy was confirmed, with a well-developed male embryo.
Unfortunately, the female died of a bacterial infection, unrelated to the embryo transfer, 70 days into the pregnancy. Nevertheless, the successful procedure is a breakthrough for the conservation of threatened rhinos, in particular the northern white rhino.
Conservation Success: Perth Zoo’s Dibbler Breed-for-Release Programme Comes to an End After 26 Years
January 16, 2024
Since 1997, over 1,100 dibblers have been bred at Perth Zoo for release into the wild, part of a conservation strategy to bring this endangered species back from the brink of extinction. The breeding programme has now come to an end, and the conservation efforts will focus on the protection of both natural and translocated populations.
Scimitar-horned Oryx No Longer Extinct in the Wild thanks to Zoo-Supported Conservation Efforts
December 12, 2023
Conservation in Action⭐️ The scimitar-horned oryx is no longer extinct in the wild and it has been downlisted to endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species!
This species was heavily hunted across North Africa in the 1980s and 1990s, and was declared extinct in the wild by the IUCN in 2000. Conservation efforts led by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) and supported by multiple zoos and other organisations, including the reintroduction of captive-bred oryx, has enabled this amazing recovery for the species!
Four Giant Galapagos Tortoises Hatch at Loro Parque: A First for the Zoo!
December 5, 2023
Loro Parque has successfully bred the Giant Galapagos tortoise for the first time in the zoo's history! Four tortoises hatched - a significant milestone in ex situ conservation efforts for this threatened species.