Make a Donation

Start Payroll Giving

Start Fundraising

Sponsor a Subscription

The world’s Rhino are dying at an alarming rate.

What was once a diverse species covering many parts of the globe is now in some parts of the world merely a handful. In Africa, home to the majority of wild rhino today, rhino poaching has reached such a crisis point that if the killing continues at the current rate, we could see rhino deaths overtaking births in 2016-2018.

This means the rhino could become extinct in the very near future. 

Extinction is not far away, for some - the Northern White for example - it’s already beyond the point where that species can survive naturally. Every rhino that dies represents a loss to a rapidly dwindling gene pool. And it’s this lack of diversity that is as alarming as the loss in numbers.

A hard war is being fought by many - governments, foundations and conservationists. It is a war of many battles and we still don't know what the final outcome will be. It's hard to feel confident that this war - no matter how passionately it is fought - is going to be the saviour of the species.

Barring a miracle, the odds are not on the side of the Rhino.

The Institute of Rhino Cryogenics (IRC) has a very simple mission and purpose - to use science to ensure the future of the Rhino and to preserve as much of the species diversity as is possible.

Science can ensure the Rhino has a future.

We intend to do this by setting up a Rhino Biobank within the Waterberg region of Limpopo. At the moment we are blessed in the Waterberg - we have the second largest population of rhino left - in the world. We want to ensure they have a future and to extend that same right to other conservationists who share our concern.

Working in partnership with global experts, and our local network of vets, owners and scientists we will manage a programme that cryogenically preserves both cells and semen from Rhino.  This gives us viable options that can save the species. We can use Artificial Insemination to increase natural reproduction via stored sperm and Stem cells to support assisted breeding programmes - which at the same time ensures that we are addressing important diversity imperatives.

Behind all of the science is something everyone of us can understand - a simple but vital insurance policy.

No one really wants one but we know the consequences of not having one. With luck it will never be needed - but we don’t feel that we can afford to be without one, not if we want a guarantee that we will have rhino living in their natural habitat for many years to come.

The IRC has no official funding. Everything we have done so far to develop the concept and engage others has been the work of a few individuals who are deeply concerned that we have no fallback plan at the moment.

We have the knowledge and the capability to do this today, we just need the financial investment to allow us to get this started and to be able to sustain operations.

Contributions will initially be used to help us equip and run the laboratory facility and to train local teams to take and process the samples that we take.

As our facility develops we will extend our work.

Not only does this give us our vital Insurance Policy, this is an innovative approach that can teach us more about conservation and how to ensure that we continue to live in a diverse ecosystem where every species has the best chances of survival.

We can think about assisted reproduction - for example, artificial insemination (AI) and in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Female rhinos reaching the end of their reproductive life can be given the opportunity to breed successfully - given the need to preserve the diversity of the species we need certain species to breed for as long as possible as we are so dangerously close to losing them.

We can join forces with other Conservation initiatives and provide vital research and forensic support. What we are planning represents a vital addition to existing initiatives to protect our rhino. We are not only adding a complementary solution, we can also directly assist in the battle against poaching through the registering of every sampled Rhino’s DNA.

And what makes this such an exciting project is that we can apply the same scientific approach to any species. The Rhino is not the only animal on our planet in danger, imagine if we could apply what we have developed and learned through this work to the Lion, the Wild Dog, the Elephant - there is really nothing to stop us.

Correspondence details:

Charity details:

---