By Morne de la Rey, Rhino Repro | June 20, 2020Jackie “miracle baby”: Born on 24 May 2020 from the rhino cow May. She couldn’t fall pregnant for 6 years.
May arrived at Thaba Manzi in 2014 and never achieved to cycle well enough to be covered by a bull and fall pregnant.
November 2018 we did an OPU (ovum pick up) procedure on May. By removing all the follicles from her ovaries it “kickstarted” again her reproductive cycle and was covered in December 2018 by one of the breeding bulls, Vincent. We were ecstatic in February 2019 when we scanned May and found her to be pregnant. Anxiously we waited for her to give birth and under the brilliant supervision of the Thaba Manzi team a healthy heifer calf was born on 24 May 2020. Gorgeous little Jackie is now enjoying the company of 3 other lockdown babies!!!
The success we had with May and 3 other cows that calved in last year after extended periods of not getting pregnant holds great prospects for the future for the breeding of southern white rhinos.
Rhino Repro is fighting to help rhinos with all means necessary to save them through assisted reproductive techniques (ART)
Thank you to the Rhino Repro team and everyone at Thaba Manzi!!!
