Southern white rhino brings the beginning of new life, nearly 4 years after its death.

In October 2021, veterinarians at Whipsnade Zoo teamed up with three specialist groups to collect tissue samples post-mortem from a recently deceased 40-year old Southern white rhino, with the hopes that they could be preserved and used in the future to help study her genetics and even create new life.

Among the specialists were Nature’s SAFE, a wildlife biobanking charity, who preserved a skin sample from the rhino’s ear. By preserving skins cells while they were still in a living state, the charity had banked its hope upon the cells remaining alive while cryopreserved at -196⁰C, so that when thawed out in the future they could be revived and cultured to create fresh cell lines.

This is the first stage in an innovative process that could allow scientists to develop new egg or sperm cells from this rhino, enabling it to contribute to the breeding population of Southern white rhino for years into the future.

Although it may sound like science fiction, this technology is already developed in mice, demonstrating its potential to assist reproduction in other animal species too.

The goal of Nature’s SAFE is to Save Animals From Extinction. They do this by protecting the genetic diversity of wild animal species and supporting advanced assisted reproductive technologies (like artificial insemination and in-vitro fertilisation) which are used to maintain and restore healthy animal populations. This makes species more resilient against extinction and protects the biodiversity of our planet.

Debbie Rolmanis, Chief Operations Officer, explains:

“By preserving and cultivating skin cells from threatened species, we are building a living library of genetic material that can be used to help restore genetic diversity to declining animal populations and prevent extinction. The key benefit of utilising skin cells is that we can obtain them easily and continue to regenerate them indefinitely; they are not a finite resource. This provides a powerful, proven way to protect DNA within a functional cell.”

In April 2025, the cells were carefully removed from the liquid nitrogen storage tanks and thawed out. Nearly 4 years after the rhino’s death, the team at Nature’s SAFE successfully cultured these cells and have grown new cell lines.

Lucy Morgan, the lab technician behind this success, explains how it happened:

“On average, cell culture takes 7 to 10 days to complete. As this was our first rhino cell culture, we were a little unsure if this same timeline would be followed. But, we are proud to report that cells grew exceptionally well in culture and have now been preserved for future applications.

These cells represent living DNA from this rhino that is readily available for conservation use even though the rhino itself is deceased. These cells could allow for the creation of gametes from their living genetics through induced pluripotent stem cell technology, which can then be used to assist reproduction. For now, the samples will remain safely in storage at Nature’s SAFE, ready for future use as and when instructed by the conservation partner in ownership of the samples. “

This is a hallmark for the potential of wildlife biobanking technology in conservation. Nature’s SAFE has now stored biological samples from 300 species, including 37 which are Critically Endangered and 4 which are Extinct in the Wild. Successful cell cultures are a pivotal step in restoring these populations to sustainable numbers. Tullis Matson, Founder and Chair of Nature’s SAFE, says:

“This could be an absolute game-changer moving forward. Now, we’ve proven that this rhino’s cells are truly in a living state even though she passed away almost 4 years ago. This is a powerful tool for protecting many more of our Critically Endangered species; animals like the mountain chicken frog or Lake Patzcuaro salamander, which otherwise might have fallen into extinction, could be saved using these new biobanking technologies. We are over the moon – this brings hope not just to the Southern white rhino, but to any species on the brink!”