Last updated: May 2026
On the dry plains of Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia, two animals live under 24-hour armed guard. They are the only two members of their kind left on Earth — Najin and her daughter Fatu, the last northern white rhinos in the world. The story of how the subspecies came to this point — and the remarkable scientific effort underway to bring it back from functional extinction through IVF, stem-cell technology and surrogacy — is one of the most ambitious conservation programmes ever attempted. It plays out, day by day, on a fenced-off section of the Laikipia plateau.
This guide covers the history that brought the northern white rhino to extinction, the lives of Najin and Fatu, the BioRescue scientific consortium and its IVF programme, the visit experience for tourists who want to see the rhinos themselves, and the broader conservation context that makes Ol Pejeta the operational hub of one of the world’s most-watched species recovery efforts.
The Subspecies and Its Crisis
The northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) is one of two recognised subspecies of the white rhinoceros — the other being the southern white rhino (C. s. simum). Until the mid-20th century, northern whites occupied a vast range across central and East Africa: parts of South Sudan, Uganda, Chad, the Central African Republic, the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and northeastern Africa more broadly.
The decline was driven primarily by poaching for rhino horn, fueled by demand from East Asian traditional medicine markets and (more recently) Yemeni dagger handles and other commercial uses. Wild populations crashed through the 1970s and 1980s. By 2008, the last confirmed wild northern white rhinos were lost in Garamba National Park in the DRC, possibly killed by poachers, possibly by armed conflict spillover.
By 2014, only six known northern white rhinos remained in the world — all in captivity, four at Ol Pejeta in Kenya, two at Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic. Within a few years, those numbers had dwindled further: Sudan (the last male) died in March 2018, and only Najin and Fatu remain today.
Najin and Fatu
The Two Survivors
Najin is the older of the two, born in 1989 at Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic. She was transferred to Ol Pejeta in 2009 with three other northern white rhinos (Sudan, Suni and Fatu), in a last-ditch hope that natural breeding might be possible in a habitat closer to the species’ original range.
Fatu is Najin’s daughter, born in 2000 at Dvůr Králové. She arrived at Ol Pejeta in the same 2009 transfer.
Both animals are female. Both are in their 30s. Neither is medically capable of carrying a pregnancy to term — Fatu has uterine pathology, Najin has hind leg problems and reproductive issues. The species cannot be sustained through natural reproduction alone.
Life at Ol Pejeta
Najin and Fatu live in a 700-acre fenced enclosure within Ol Pejeta Conservancy. The enclosure is secured with electric fencing, monitored 24 hours a day by armed rangers, and equipped with veterinary observation infrastructure. The two rhinos browse, wallow, sleep and live a relatively natural daily life within the enclosure — the only differences from a wild rhino’s life being the security presence and the regular veterinary monitoring.
Their handlers — particularly the head of the rhino unit who has worked with Najin and Fatu for over a decade — know them intimately. Najin is described as the more cautious of the two; Fatu as more curious. Both have established routines and personalities that the keepers can describe in detail.
The BioRescue Programme
The Scientific Consortium
BioRescue is a consortium of international scientific institutions working to recover the northern white rhino from functional extinction. Lead institutions include the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Berlin), Avantea (Italy, specialising in animal reproductive biotechnology), Safari Park Dvůr Králové (Czech Republic), the Kenya Wildlife Service, Ol Pejeta Conservancy itself, and several other research and conservation organisations.
The programme has substantial financial support from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, private donors, and conservancy revenue. It is one of the most ambitious species-recovery projects in conservation history.
The IVF and Stem-Cell Approach
Because Najin and Fatu cannot carry pregnancies, the recovery strategy relies on combining stored sperm from deceased northern white rhino males with eggs harvested from Najin and Fatu, producing embryos in the lab, and then transferring those embryos to surrogate southern white rhino mothers.
The technical steps:
Sperm storage. Frozen semen samples were collected from northern white rhino males before their deaths — most notably from Sudan (died 2018) and a small number of other males held at zoos before their deaths. The sperm is stored in liquid nitrogen at multiple secure facilities.
Egg collection. Fatu has had multiple oocyte (egg) collection procedures since 2019. Each procedure involves general anaesthesia, ultrasound-guided egg retrieval from the ovaries, and immediate processing of the recovered eggs. Najin’s egg collections were ceased in 2021 after an in-depth ethical risk assessment.
Embryo creation. Recovered eggs are matured in the lab, fertilised with thawed northern white rhino sperm, and developed to viable embryo stage at the Avantea laboratory in Italy.
Embryo storage. Successful embryos are frozen for future use. As of mid-2025, BioRescue had produced over 30 viable northern white rhino embryos.
Surrogate transfer. Selected southern white rhino females are prepared as surrogate mothers and embryos are transferred under anaesthesia. The first proof-of-concept pregnancy in a rhinoceros after IVF was achieved in late 2023 with a southern white rhino embryo (not yet northern white). In the second half of 2025, three northern white rhino embryo transfers were conducted at Ol Pejeta. None of those attempts has yet resulted in a long-term pregnancy.
The Stem-Cell Backup
Beyond the immediate IVF programme, BioRescue is developing stem-cell technology to potentially produce additional genetic material from cell lines derived from deceased northern white rhinos. This could expand the genetic diversity of any future population beyond the few individuals whose sperm was preserved. The stem-cell work is at an earlier research stage than the IVF programme.
Recent Setbacks and Progress
The programme has experienced both progress and setbacks. Recent advances include the proof-of-concept southern white rhino IVF pregnancy (2023), continued production of viable northern white rhino embryos, and the first northern white embryo transfers at Ol Pejeta (late 2025). Setbacks have included an unexpected bacterial infection that contributed to the loss of one early surrogate pregnancy, and the slow pace of biological progress despite significant resource investment.
The honest scientific assessment: the programme remains a moonshot. Whether it ultimately succeeds depends on biological steps not yet proven at scale (sustained surrogate pregnancies, viable births, healthy long-term offspring, eventual establishment of a breeding population). But the work has scientific credibility, substantial conservation commitment, and is producing real progress against what was widely considered an impossible problem.
Visiting Najin and Fatu
Where and When
Najin and Fatu live in the Endangered Species Enclosure at Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Visitors must be staying at one of the Ol Pejeta-affiliated lodges (Sweetwaters Tented Camp, Ol Pejeta Bush Camp, Ol Pejeta House, Porini Rhino Camp, or others) or visit on a structured day pass through Ol Pejeta’s tourism programmes.
Visit times: typically scheduled afternoon visits between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m., though specific times depend on lodge arrangements. The visit lasts 45–90 minutes and is conducted by trained Ol Pejeta staff, often including the head of the rhino unit or one of the regular keepers.
What the Visit Looks Like
Visitors are escorted into the secure enclosure area on foot with a small group (typically 4–8 people). The keepers introduce Najin and Fatu by name, describe each animal’s personality and history, explain the BioRescue programme, and answer questions. Visitors can approach the rhinos to within several metres (under careful supervision) for photographs. Often visitors can touch one or both rhinos under the keepers’ supervision — a remarkable, slightly emotional moment for many people.
The visit is not a “rhino zoo” experience. The keepers’ deep relationships with the animals, the gravity of the species’ situation, and the operational seriousness of the conservation programme together create an experience that’s substantively different from a standard wildlife encounter.
Costs
The visit is typically included in the standard Ol Pejeta lodge stay or available as an add-on (USD 50–120 per person depending on lodge programme and arrangement). Day-visit access through Ol Pejeta’s gate (USD 110 entry fee for non-resident adults) plus additional visit fees for the rhino enclosure tour.
Etiquette
The visit is heavily managed for the rhinos’ welfare. Visitors must:
- Move slowly and quietly
- Listen to and immediately follow keeper instructions
- Not use camera flashes
- Not touch the rhinos except as specifically invited
- Keep voices low
- Respect the keepers’ authority and judgment
Photography is encouraged for personal use; commercial photography requires advance permission.
How Your Visit Helps
Visiting Najin and Fatu directly supports the conservation programme in several ways:
Conservancy fees at Ol Pejeta lodges fund the security, veterinary care, and infrastructure that protect the rhinos.
Specific donation programmes attached to the BioRescue work accept direct contributions from visitors. The “Adopt a Rhino” programme and similar donation channels provide direct funding for the IVF programme.
Awareness and advocacy. The programme depends on continued public interest, scientific funding and political support. Visitors who tell the story to their networks contribute to the long-term sustainability of the effort.
Tourism revenue more broadly at Ol Pejeta funds the conservancy operation that makes the species recovery work possible at all. Ol Pejeta covers nearly all its USD 6 million annual operating budget through commercially generated revenues, primarily tourism.
The Broader Conservation Context
The northern white rhino programme exists within a broader Ol Pejeta conservation operation that includes:
Black rhino conservation. Ol Pejeta holds over 200 black rhinos — the largest population in East Africa. Black rhinos are critically endangered but, unlike the northern whites, have a viable breeding population.
Southern white rhinos. Hundreds of southern white rhinos live across Ol Pejeta and surrounding conservancies. Some of the females are being prepared as potential surrogates for the northern white IVF programme.
The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary. A Jane Goodall–founded sanctuary on Ol Pejeta hosts chimpanzees rescued from the bushmeat and pet trades.
Big Five wildlife. Ol Pejeta is a complete safari destination — lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and the Big Five generally — operating alongside the species recovery work.
What If the Programme Fails
The honest contingency: if the IVF programme cannot produce viable long-term pregnancies and eventual offspring, the northern white rhino subspecies will be lost to extinction within the lifetimes of Najin and Fatu (probably within 5–10 years). The conservation infrastructure — the security, the keepers’ care, the daily attention — will continue regardless, ensuring that the surviving animals live as full lives as possible.
Even partial success would be a major scientific achievement. The IVF and stem-cell work being developed for the northern white rhino is producing techniques and insights that could be applied to other endangered species facing similar functional extinction risks. The programme’s contributions to assisted reproductive technology in megafauna will outlast the specific question of whether the northern white rhino itself recovers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Najin and Fatu the only northern white rhinos in the world?
Yes. They are the last two surviving members of the subspecies. No others exist in any zoo, conservancy, wild population or private collection.
Can I see them on a normal Kenya safari?
Yes — visiting Najin and Fatu is one of the standard Ol Pejeta experiences for guests staying at the conservancy lodges. Day visitors can also access the visit through structured Ol Pejeta day-pass programmes.
Will the IVF programme save the species?
Unknown. The programme has produced viable embryos and proof-of-concept pregnancies, but sustained northern white rhino pregnancies in surrogates have not yet been achieved. The biological challenges are real and not all of them are yet solved.
Why couldn’t Najin and Fatu just breed naturally?
Both are female; there are no male northern white rhinos left. Even if a male existed, both Najin and Fatu have medical conditions that would prevent natural pregnancy.
How were the northern white rhinos driven to extinction?
Primarily by poaching for rhino horn, supported by armed conflict in the species’ Central African range. The crisis accelerated through the 1970s and 1980s as horn prices rose. The last confirmed wild population was lost from Garamba National Park (DRC) by 2008.
What’s the difference between northern and southern white rhinos?
Two distinct subspecies of the white rhinoceros. Visually similar, with subtle skull and tooth differences. Genetically distinct enough that some scientists argue they should be classified as separate species. The southern white rhino is conservation-recovered and numbers around 18,000–20,000 in the wild.
Could Sudan be cloned?
Cloning was discussed but has not been seriously pursued as part of the BioRescue programme. The IVF approach using stored sperm from multiple males offers more genetic diversity than cloning a single individual.
How is BioRescue funded?
Major funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the European Union research programmes, private donors, and revenue from Ol Pejeta and partner conservancies. Direct donations are welcome through Ol Pejeta and the BioRescue website.
The Bottom Line
Najin and Fatu, the last two northern white rhinos on Earth, live on Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia under armed protection and intensive conservation care. The BioRescue scientific programme attempting to recover the subspecies through IVF using stored sperm from deceased males and harvested eggs from Fatu is one of the most ambitious species-recovery efforts ever attempted. The programme has produced viable embryos and proof-of-concept pregnancies; whether it ultimately succeeds in producing northern white rhino calves remains uncertain. Visiting the rhinos is one of the most powerful conservation experiences available anywhere — a direct encounter with the last members of a vanished subspecies, and with the people working to bring them back.
