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[heavy breathing]
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[♪ Inspirational music playing]
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[♪ Theme music playing]
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[birds chirping]
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[♪ Reflective music playing]
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Fatu... Come on, guy.
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Here.
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These are the last two
northern white rhinos on earth.
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Their names are Najin and Fatu.
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Hi, hi. Good Girl.
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She loves to be stroked
behind the ears and, um...
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...under the belly
also, just like here.
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Yeah, I've had her for 15 years,
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so we are good friends.
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Good girl, Najin.
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But because of human failure,
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human greed, the result is
just only the two we have.
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Najin, she's 31 years old.
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That is like about six
years in human lifetime.
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And her daughter,
she's 20 years.
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So they are mother and daughter,
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watching each other get
older every day with no new
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babies to teach and care for.
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Hi, Fatu. Hi, Fatu.
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She's had some good mud
baths, it looks like.
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In the early 1900s,
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there were thousands of
northern white rhinos
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roaming the plains
of Central Africa.
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But due to poaching, that
number was down to only
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15 by the 1980s.
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Today, there are only these
last two females left.
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I've been following this
story for over 15 years,
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documenting a team called
BioRescue as they attempt a new
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scientific procedure to save
the northern white rhino here
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on a protected
preserve in Kenya.
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00:04:01,742 --> 00:04:05,312
You see the young
21-year-old female and then
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the 32-year-old female.
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So it's a clear
difference in body shape.
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We have a clock ticking on
us always with this project.
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The last two northern white
rhinos are getting old.
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They will not be here forever.
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The males are already gone.
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There's no natural
breeding anymore.
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The only chance
would be via IVF.
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[Ami] IVF is a reproductive
procedure where eggs and sperm
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are combined in a laboratory.
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The embryo is then implanted
into the uterus of the mother
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to grow into a baby.
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But IVF in a rhino has
never been done before.
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The first step is
collecting oocytes, or eggs,
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from the last living
northern white rhinos.
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That's what the scientists
will attempt to do tomorrow.
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[Thomas] She's beautiful.
Beautiful lady.
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And hopefully you
will have a baby soon.
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We are scientists doing
a procedure which was
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never done before.
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And if we fail, then the
northern white rhino is gone.
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And that is on our shoulders.
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My colleagues and I have poured
our life into this project,
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so tomorrow is a very big day.
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[♪ Upbeat music playing]
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The night before
the ovum pick-up is
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always quite challenging.
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You have all these
ideas what can go wrong.
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If we make a mistake,
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it can have such
consequences that
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there is an internal bleeding,
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there is an anesthesia
which is too deep and
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the animal never wakes up again.
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[Zacharia] The first
thing we do is to check
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how they're doing.
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We don't want him to be nervous.
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Fatu, come on, Fatu.
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[Ami] Zacharia, you
can feel his stress.
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He knows what the stakes are.
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This is like his baby.
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[Zacharia] Fatu.
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I've looked after
them for 11 years,
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and they do recognize my voice.
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This way. One more. OK.
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OK, wait. Wait, wait, wait.
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OK, let her go.
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Back.
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Yeah, that's fine.
That's fine. Leave her.
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Make sure that she stacks
the horn in the corner.
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That's fine. Leave
her like this.
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Cool, guys.
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[Ami] The anesthesia is a
really important piece of it.
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This is what Frank does.
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If he doesn't get the
formula exactly right,
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these animals can die.
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[Frank] Two milligram deto,
100 milligram ketamine.
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Okay, you can go higher now.
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[Ami] These procedures
can be incredibly risky.
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I mean, can you imagine
a 2,000-pound animal with
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a horn waking up?
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[Frank] Oxygen is deep in.
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[Thomas] We had some accidents.
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I lost a disc in my backbone
because working with elephants.
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I broke my collarbone
with a rhino.
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So there's some risk,
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but we have to know that
our patient is dangerous.
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It's not a teddy bear.
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But doing this procedure
is for us the only chance.
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[speaking in foreign language]
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This one, small one.
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There's two, actually.
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Have you seen that? Next
to each other. Yeah.
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[speaking in foreign language]
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[Frank] Remember that
this ovary is down on the
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lower side, yeah?
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[Thomas] Yeah. Okay.
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Is this left or right?
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[Thomas] Left, and
it's on the lower side.
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[Frank] Okay.
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[Thomas] Good.
Good for the kids.
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Yep. Perfect.
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[Frank] Okay guys, crossed
one hour border time.
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They're keeping close
track of the time.
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You know, they can't
keep her under anesthesia
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for that long.
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[Thomas] Okay, stop. Yep.
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[overlapping chatter]
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Okay, okay. Very good.
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00:09:37,110 --> 00:09:38,678
Okay, let's go.
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At the end, when we
finish the harvest,
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the second phase happens, and
we have to find the oocyte.
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Searching for the eggs or
oocyte takes place in a form of
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shipping container,
which gets very hot.
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00:09:56,663 --> 00:09:59,098
And also, it is very
attractive for flies,
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and you have to focus very
strongly on the microscope.
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00:10:05,405 --> 00:10:08,641
You play with the light and
then suddenly you see this
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00:10:08,775 --> 00:10:11,578
purple light coming out of
a cell and then you know
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00:10:11,711 --> 00:10:13,279
that is what you want.
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00:10:16,282 --> 00:10:17,650
Is that a good one?
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00:10:17,784 --> 00:10:19,652
-Yeah.
-Yeah, it looks good.
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00:10:19,786 --> 00:10:21,020
That is what we do.
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The reason why we are here.
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00:10:24,858 --> 00:10:27,260
This is the beginning
of new life.
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00:10:29,095 --> 00:10:31,664
Robert, 19 oocytes.
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Yay!
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[cheering]
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Good.
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Best result ever.
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[Robert] Yes!
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Yep.
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00:10:40,707 --> 00:10:44,744
[Ami] 19 oocytes means 19
potential chances to create
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new baby northern white rhinos.
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We never had such result before.
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00:10:54,387 --> 00:10:56,789
Never. The best in any rhino.
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We are extremely grateful.
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Okay, now I have to
pack again, sorry.
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00:11:02,729 --> 00:11:03,780
Sorry, that is the second part.
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00:11:03,863 --> 00:11:06,833
Otherwise we miss our
flight and lose our harvest.
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Okay.
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As soon as they're done,
it's complete chaos.
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They quickly get all
their suitcases and then
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whizzed to the airport.
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00:11:26,786 --> 00:11:28,922
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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[laughter]
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[Ami] It's a race against the
clock to deliver the eggs to
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the lab in Italy and
turn those oocytes
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into viable embryos.
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[Thomas] We have maximum
48-hours after collection
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when the oocyte needs
to be processed.
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Otherwise, the
project will fail.
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[♪ Inspirational music playing]
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[Ami] I have been
documenting the story of
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the northern white
rhino since 2009.
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[camera shutter clicking]
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I have probably made 40
trips which I have largely
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self-funded because this is
one of the most important
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stories of our lifetime.
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[camera shutter clicking]
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My goal is to reach as many
people as possible and inspire
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them to care.
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[audience applause]
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Hello!
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Hello, SLO!
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Oh, thank you.
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Thank you.
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Good evening. Wow. I thank
you all for coming out.
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I am so excited to be back here.
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Back in 2009, I met a
rhinoceros named Sudan
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for the first time.
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And quite unexpectedly,
this gentle,
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hulking creature changed
the way I see the world.
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I literally felt like I
had just seen a unicorn.
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I was so moved by him, and
I couldn't believe that we,
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humanity, had
reduced them to this.
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[reporter] The world's last
male northern white rhino
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has died.
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A wildlife conservancy
in Kenya says the
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00:13:39,018 --> 00:13:41,387
45-year-old rhino
named Sudan died from
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age-related complications.
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00:13:43,589 --> 00:13:45,191
Sudan was euthanized
after his condition
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worsened significantly.
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[Zacharia] I cared for Sudan
every day for almost 10 years.
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He was so special
because he knew he was so
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00:13:56,169 --> 00:13:58,971
strong and so powerful.
201
00:14:00,940 --> 00:14:03,376
But I think he also
knew he needed our help.
202
00:14:06,145 --> 00:14:09,115
I can still remember the
last day we lost him.
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Everything stands still.
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00:14:20,093 --> 00:14:21,961
[Ami] The moment
when Sudan died,
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the last male
northern white rhino,
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00:14:24,030 --> 00:14:28,401
it was just this realization
that this is what we've done.
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I only took two frames of that
because I didn't want the sound
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00:14:37,944 --> 00:14:41,414
of my camera to disturb the
sacredness of the moment.
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00:14:44,450 --> 00:14:47,286
And that picture,
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I never expected it
to be so symbolic.
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I think people saw it and
recognized it's our last chance.
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[♪ Reflective music playing]
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00:15:14,213 --> 00:15:18,317
It was actually Sudan's
death that was a real spark.
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00:15:22,288 --> 00:15:24,590
Everybody began to understand
there's no more time.
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After the eggs are extracted,
they have to be fertilized
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within 48 hours.
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00:15:49,115 --> 00:15:52,452
Cesare's laboratory is amazing.
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00:15:53,653 --> 00:15:56,255
There's this high-tech
thing going on,
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but then right outside are
all of these cloned animals.
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00:16:02,328 --> 00:16:05,097
That's where you get
this feeling like, oh,
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00:16:05,231 --> 00:16:07,166
we're playing God here.
222
00:16:09,302 --> 00:16:13,372
But this technology means
saving the northern white rhino
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00:16:13,506 --> 00:16:15,041
just might be possible.
224
00:16:17,143 --> 00:16:19,303
[Thomas] The eggs will be
fertilized with a sperm which
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00:16:19,412 --> 00:16:21,113
comes from two different bulls.
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00:16:22,181 --> 00:16:26,452
Both are passed away,
one in 2015, one in 2014.
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00:16:27,553 --> 00:16:30,923
It's quite a
challenging operation.
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00:16:34,126 --> 00:16:37,296
The sperm which is
injected will develop into
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00:16:37,430 --> 00:16:43,569
this new cell and then
new life starts to grow.
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The miracle of life is
something that is so fragile.
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It can be destroyed so easily.
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00:17:01,721 --> 00:17:05,224
Rhinos survive for millions
of years against drought,
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00:17:05,658 --> 00:17:08,694
predators, and the
forces of nature.
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00:17:10,429 --> 00:17:11,697
But in just a few decades,
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00:17:11,831 --> 00:17:14,133
humans nearly wiped them out.
236
00:17:14,967 --> 00:17:17,603
Now every day that passes
without a new baby on the
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00:17:17,737 --> 00:17:21,674
ground is one day closer
to the northern white rhino
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00:17:21,807 --> 00:17:23,976
being gone forever.
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00:17:25,611 --> 00:17:29,181
So there's always this
clock ticking on us.
240
00:17:29,515 --> 00:17:31,384
And our time is almost up.
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00:17:36,656 --> 00:17:39,358
[Ami] This is how we
imagine wildlife roaming the
242
00:17:39,492 --> 00:17:41,060
open plains of Africa.
243
00:17:41,527 --> 00:17:44,330
That's not actually what
it's like today for rhinos.
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00:17:44,830 --> 00:17:46,365
This is what it's like.
245
00:17:46,599 --> 00:17:49,268
They have to be guarded
around the clock 24-7 by
246
00:17:49,402 --> 00:17:53,105
heavily militarized men
because the value of their horn
247
00:17:53,239 --> 00:17:54,607
is worth more than gold.
248
00:17:57,376 --> 00:18:00,346
They are being
poached to extinction.
249
00:18:00,479 --> 00:18:02,715
And it's not just the
northern white rhino.
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00:18:02,848 --> 00:18:06,652
It was just announced that
we have lost 73% of the
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00:18:06,786 --> 00:18:09,155
world's wildlife in
the last 50 years.
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00:18:09,588 --> 00:18:12,458
I just could not stop
thinking about this.
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00:18:12,758 --> 00:18:15,628
And I started researching
and reading everything
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00:18:15,761 --> 00:18:17,163
I could about this story.
255
00:18:17,296 --> 00:18:19,332
I wanted to understand,
what do we do?
256
00:18:19,465 --> 00:18:20,700
Is there hope?
257
00:18:20,833 --> 00:18:22,401
How do we stop this?
258
00:18:22,535 --> 00:18:25,638
And I just started asking
one simple question,
259
00:18:25,771 --> 00:18:28,407
which I could not find
in any of the stories.
260
00:18:28,708 --> 00:18:32,511
What do the people who live
right next to the animals think?
261
00:18:33,679 --> 00:18:35,581
Do they care about them?
262
00:18:36,549 --> 00:18:40,786
And actually, it has led me
down this amazing path of
263
00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:44,323
finding the most extraordinary
people that do care.
264
00:18:45,091 --> 00:18:48,461
We can often forget that the
best protectors are those
265
00:18:48,594 --> 00:18:51,731
people who are living
alongside the animals.
266
00:18:54,700 --> 00:18:57,069
They are the ones out
there fighting that fight
267
00:18:57,203 --> 00:18:58,804
every single day.
268
00:20:16,615 --> 00:20:19,385
[Thomas] There are only two
animals on earth capable of
269
00:20:19,518 --> 00:20:22,354
providing the eggs
needed to make
270
00:20:22,488 --> 00:20:24,590
northern white rhino embryos.
271
00:20:27,893 --> 00:20:30,162
But even that is
in jeopardy now.
272
00:21:05,731 --> 00:21:07,733
One of these tumors may
even become malignant,
273
00:21:07,867 --> 00:21:09,467
so that's the risk we
don't want to take.
274
00:21:11,637 --> 00:21:14,306
[Thomas] The results of
Nadine's recent health check
275
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:18,410
shows that sadly she is too
sick to provide any more eggs
276
00:21:18,778 --> 00:21:19,945
to the program.
277
00:21:20,212 --> 00:21:22,848
So the number of new embryos
we can make now rests
278
00:21:22,982 --> 00:21:24,416
solely on Fatu.
279
00:21:28,053 --> 00:21:31,257
The extinction of this
species is on a razor's edge.
280
00:21:32,057 --> 00:21:35,528
Every day that passes is
one day closer to losing the
281
00:21:35,661 --> 00:21:37,730
last northern white
rhinos on Earth.
282
00:21:48,007 --> 00:21:50,876
[♪ Somber music playing]
283
00:21:53,913 --> 00:21:56,682
[Zacharia] I remember the
first time I saw a rhino,
284
00:21:57,016 --> 00:21:58,584
it was so exciting.
285
00:22:15,634 --> 00:22:18,404
[Zacharia] I want these rhinos
to be here for my daughters.
286
00:22:19,004 --> 00:22:21,273
And for the next generation.
287
00:22:23,442 --> 00:22:25,678
[Ami] Only five rhino
species remain on Earth.
288
00:22:27,646 --> 00:22:29,648
Three are in Asia,
and two are in Africa.
289
00:22:31,584 --> 00:22:34,987
Losing any of these rhino
species brings us one step
290
00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:38,490
closer to losing
all rhinos forever.
291
00:22:40,125 --> 00:22:43,028
Unfortunately, neither
of the last two surviving
292
00:22:43,162 --> 00:22:45,397
northern white rhinos
293
00:22:45,531 --> 00:22:47,866
are healthy enough to
carry their own pregnancy.
294
00:22:48,968 --> 00:22:51,570
Saving the northern white
rhino depends on scientists
295
00:22:52,304 --> 00:22:55,374
using closely related southern
white rhino females as
296
00:22:55,507 --> 00:22:58,744
surrogate mothers to carry the
embryos created in the lab to a
297
00:22:58,878 --> 00:23:00,479
full-term pregnancy.
298
00:23:02,014 --> 00:23:04,717
But none of this has
ever been done before.
299
00:23:04,850 --> 00:23:06,685
It's a scientific first.
300
00:24:05,744 --> 00:24:08,180
We're in Amsterdam. I'm
about to board the plane.
301
00:24:08,747 --> 00:24:10,950
This has been the most
stressful and also
302
00:24:11,083 --> 00:24:13,385
exciting 24 hours.
303
00:24:14,086 --> 00:24:14,987
I got a call.
304
00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:18,424
I was in the middle of
a talk in California,
305
00:24:18,557 --> 00:24:21,460
scrambled to get here, and
it is just so exciting.
306
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:29,468
We're at the enclosure now.
307
00:24:29,601 --> 00:24:31,704
We're driving up to the
northern white rhinos.
308
00:24:31,837 --> 00:24:34,473
And right next door to them
are the southern white rhinos.
309
00:24:35,874 --> 00:24:37,710
And the sun is coming up.
310
00:24:37,843 --> 00:24:40,746
And there's just so
much anticipation.
311
00:24:43,248 --> 00:24:44,950
Here we are.
312
00:24:52,024 --> 00:24:53,459
[Thomas] Good morning, everyone.
313
00:24:53,592 --> 00:24:56,595
We are extremely proud
to be here today because
314
00:24:56,729 --> 00:24:59,631
it will be the first
time that an embryo from
315
00:24:59,765 --> 00:25:02,701
a rhino source will be
implanted into a wild rhino.
316
00:25:02,835 --> 00:25:04,903
That is a very big step.
317
00:25:05,704 --> 00:25:07,740
[Frank] 50 milligram
butorphanol,
318
00:25:07,873 --> 00:25:10,008
which is five milliliter
from this stuff.
319
00:25:10,609 --> 00:25:15,147
[Thomas] We agreed in a quite
intensive discussion that it
320
00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:17,616
would be more wise to use a
321
00:25:17,750 --> 00:25:19,218
southern white
rhino embryo first.
322
00:25:22,588 --> 00:25:24,990
If the embryo transfer of
our southern white rhino
323
00:25:25,124 --> 00:25:26,859
embryos is successful,
324
00:25:26,992 --> 00:25:29,795
then we would continue with the
northern white rhino embryos.
325
00:25:31,030 --> 00:25:34,032
Everything of these
steps are new ground,
326
00:25:35,601 --> 00:25:39,138
and therefore it is so
important to, to practice.
327
00:25:47,179 --> 00:25:50,149
[♪ Intense music playing]
328
00:25:50,516 --> 00:25:53,986
It's a little bit like
sending a man to the moon,
329
00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:55,854
because as everyone knows,
330
00:25:55,988 --> 00:25:58,657
not all of these
missions were successful.
331
00:25:59,024 --> 00:26:00,092
[Frank] Okay, let's go.
332
00:26:01,093 --> 00:26:02,995
Okay, good luck. Good luck.
333
00:26:26,752 --> 00:26:29,922
[♪ Intense music playing]
334
00:26:30,422 --> 00:26:32,157
[overlapping chatter]
335
00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:36,094
[Frank] Ready to go?
336
00:27:39,691 --> 00:27:42,227
[overlapping chatter]
337
00:27:45,364 --> 00:27:46,732
[Zacharia] Okay.
338
00:27:59,811 --> 00:28:01,079
[Thomas] And more here, here.
339
00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:08,754
It's 36.
340
00:28:32,110 --> 00:28:33,111
OK.
341
00:28:45,824 --> 00:28:48,293
[overlapping chatter]
342
00:28:52,064 --> 00:28:53,232
[♪ Suspenseful music playing]
343
00:29:15,287 --> 00:29:16,321
[Thomas] We will see.
344
00:29:27,499 --> 00:29:29,251
[reporter] An international
team of scientists has
345
00:29:29,334 --> 00:29:34,006
successfully implanted an embryo
into a southern white rhino
346
00:29:34,139 --> 00:29:35,340
for the first time.
347
00:29:35,674 --> 00:29:38,210
[reporter] It's a historic
international effort from teams
348
00:29:38,343 --> 00:29:39,878
all across the world,
349
00:29:40,212 --> 00:29:43,782
working quickly to save a
species before it's too late.
350
00:29:44,282 --> 00:29:45,734
[reporter] The procedure
was carried out with
351
00:29:45,817 --> 00:29:46,752
southern white rhinos,
352
00:29:46,885 --> 00:29:49,288
which are closely related
to northern whites.
353
00:29:49,921 --> 00:29:52,791
The surrogate in Kenya
is healthy and 70 days
354
00:29:52,924 --> 00:29:54,026
into its pregnancy.
355
00:30:01,933 --> 00:30:05,203
[Thomas] Now it is a waiting
game to see if it's actually
356
00:30:05,337 --> 00:30:08,874
possible to grow a healthy
baby rhino via IVF.
357
00:30:12,844 --> 00:30:16,748
But on a personal level,
putting so much time and energy
358
00:30:16,882 --> 00:30:20,218
into this project has been
especially difficult recently.
359
00:30:22,054 --> 00:30:25,123
My wife is a cancer patient,
360
00:30:26,458 --> 00:30:28,326
and she had finished
her first chemotherapy
361
00:30:28,460 --> 00:30:30,529
in May last year.
362
00:30:31,430 --> 00:30:34,766
But unfortunately and very
tragically it turned out
363
00:30:34,900 --> 00:30:36,902
she had a relapse of
her cancer and it is
364
00:30:37,035 --> 00:30:39,338
not treatable anymore.
365
00:30:41,006 --> 00:30:42,474
So she will die soon.
366
00:30:47,012 --> 00:30:52,017
But we both agreed that this
is important for both of us.
367
00:30:52,751 --> 00:30:55,921
It's a mission we want
to achieve together.
368
00:30:56,054 --> 00:30:59,191
So that is our agreement
and that is my dream.
369
00:31:01,026 --> 00:31:04,763
I think all these wonderful
people working with us,
370
00:31:04,896 --> 00:31:06,865
they have the same mission.
371
00:31:07,099 --> 00:31:09,968
We have to provide
the final proof.
372
00:31:10,435 --> 00:31:12,871
When the first northern
white rhino calf is born,
373
00:31:13,004 --> 00:31:16,441
I think I can relax a little
bit more and give the...
374
00:31:16,575 --> 00:31:18,443
...the flag to someone else.
375
00:31:18,944 --> 00:31:21,046
But first we have
to achieve that.
376
00:31:24,149 --> 00:31:27,219
[Ami] Last time I was here,
I had to race to the airport,
377
00:31:27,719 --> 00:31:32,023
fly to Kenya, and they
implanted that embryo into the
378
00:31:32,157 --> 00:31:33,397
southern white rhino surrogate.
379
00:31:35,961 --> 00:31:37,929
But then something
terrible happened.
380
00:31:41,032 --> 00:31:42,501
Six weeks after the procedure,
381
00:31:42,634 --> 00:31:45,937
we got word that something
was wrong at the preserve.
382
00:31:48,173 --> 00:31:52,978
Tragically, both rhinos died
before anyone could help.
383
00:32:03,021 --> 00:32:05,924
It took weeks before we
really even understood
384
00:32:06,057 --> 00:32:07,325
what had happened.
385
00:32:43,428 --> 00:32:46,531
[Ami] In this tragic
moment came a ray of hope.
386
00:32:47,599 --> 00:32:49,234
During the autopsy,
387
00:32:49,367 --> 00:32:53,572
they found this viable
70-day-old male embryo
388
00:32:53,705 --> 00:32:55,140
in her womb.
389
00:32:56,775 --> 00:32:59,177
It was this
heartbreaking moment,
390
00:32:59,978 --> 00:33:03,215
but at the same time,
this huge breakthrough.
391
00:33:04,783 --> 00:33:07,219
[Thomas] Three and a half
years working very hard,
392
00:33:07,352 --> 00:33:08,987
and that's really a milestone.
393
00:33:10,488 --> 00:33:13,725
It's the first ever pregnancy
caused by an embryo transfer
394
00:33:14,059 --> 00:33:15,327
in a rhino source.
395
00:33:16,194 --> 00:33:17,896
[reporter] In
another world first,
396
00:33:18,029 --> 00:33:21,099
a southern white rhino
became pregnant by IVF,
397
00:33:21,233 --> 00:33:23,702
but the mother and the baby
died from an infection.
398
00:33:24,536 --> 00:33:27,405
[Thomas] Unfortunately, we
lost it when it was 70 days.
399
00:33:28,039 --> 00:33:32,677
But this little baby provided
us with a complete success
400
00:33:32,811 --> 00:33:34,613
story that everything
was working,
401
00:33:34,980 --> 00:33:37,015
and we could start
immediately with the
402
00:33:37,148 --> 00:33:38,350
northern white rhino embryos.
403
00:33:39,718 --> 00:33:42,387
Now, next time we come
with very precious cargo.
404
00:33:47,526 --> 00:33:49,694
[Ami] The pregnancy
proved the process works.
405
00:33:50,362 --> 00:33:53,665
But the loss of the surrogate
and teaser bull was a big hit
406
00:33:53,798 --> 00:33:55,166
to the project.
407
00:33:56,735 --> 00:34:00,305
[Thomas] It took months of work
on the ground in Kenya to get
408
00:34:00,438 --> 00:34:02,140
the project back on track.
409
00:34:06,244 --> 00:34:09,281
Introducing a new southern
white rhino surrogate.
410
00:34:11,416 --> 00:34:14,552
And then capturing and
sterilizing a new teaser bull.
411
00:34:17,522 --> 00:34:20,392
[overlapping excited chatter]
412
00:34:23,595 --> 00:34:27,999
Now we are finally ready to
bring a new northern white rhino
413
00:34:28,133 --> 00:34:30,168
baby into the world.
414
00:34:34,372 --> 00:34:37,342
We begin by preparing the
frozen embryos for the long
415
00:34:37,475 --> 00:34:38,610
trip to Kenya.
416
00:34:43,281 --> 00:34:44,683
I have a number 2.
417
00:34:44,816 --> 00:34:45,717
Can you write that?
418
00:34:45,850 --> 00:34:48,119
-Yeah.
-2 minus 3, 1.
419
00:34:49,187 --> 00:34:50,522
Everything is very fragile.
420
00:34:50,655 --> 00:34:52,557
If they heat up, they are dead.
421
00:34:53,792 --> 00:34:55,794
Okay, perfect.
422
00:34:57,662 --> 00:34:59,497
A lot of pressure.
423
00:34:59,631 --> 00:35:01,232
A lot of pressure
on our shoulders.
424
00:35:19,317 --> 00:35:22,320
[♪ Upbeat music playing]
425
00:35:31,463 --> 00:35:34,666
[Ami] Now the stakes are much
higher using the precious
426
00:35:34,799 --> 00:35:38,503
northern white rhino embryos
for the first time ever.
427
00:35:44,409 --> 00:35:47,779
It's easy for people who may
not be close to these animals
428
00:35:47,912 --> 00:35:51,549
to think that these are
habituated creatures.
429
00:35:51,950 --> 00:35:52,884
They're not.
430
00:35:53,018 --> 00:35:55,553
These were wild rhinos
that we are working with.
431
00:35:56,554 --> 00:36:00,725
You realize so many things
have to be perfectly
432
00:36:00,859 --> 00:36:02,394
in place for it to go right,
433
00:36:02,627 --> 00:36:05,096
and it doesn't take a lot
for things to go wrong.
434
00:36:24,682 --> 00:36:26,418
[Frank] Our new
teaser bull, Jomo.
435
00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:30,655
He's not approachable
like the other one.
436
00:36:32,891 --> 00:36:34,659
And he is known for
ramming vehicles.
437
00:36:37,495 --> 00:36:40,198
So we have to do the darting
this time by helicopter.
438
00:36:43,301 --> 00:36:45,670
Julia is with you and has
prepared the ketamine dart.
439
00:36:54,979 --> 00:36:58,817
[♪ Dramatic music playing]
440
00:37:02,353 --> 00:37:04,889
[Thomas] The plan is to dart
the female so we can perform
441
00:37:05,023 --> 00:37:07,225
the embryo
implantation procedure.
442
00:37:09,661 --> 00:37:11,580
And hopefully we can keep
Jomo away without having
443
00:37:11,663 --> 00:37:12,831
to dart him.
444
00:37:13,264 --> 00:37:15,300
He wants to be near the female,
445
00:37:15,433 --> 00:37:17,669
but it's too dangerous
during the procedure.
446
00:37:19,704 --> 00:37:21,506
So we are a little bit
under time pressure.
447
00:37:21,639 --> 00:37:23,208
Our team is already in the air.
448
00:37:23,808 --> 00:37:25,477
As soon as they dart the female,
449
00:37:25,610 --> 00:37:28,813
we have 30 minutes to
thaw the frozen embryo and
450
00:37:28,947 --> 00:37:29,948
get it implanted.
451
00:37:39,657 --> 00:37:42,760
[Frank] Okay, just get as
close as you can to the female.
452
00:37:52,337 --> 00:37:53,438
Yeah!
453
00:38:00,411 --> 00:38:02,247
[Frank] The first dart
only slows her down.
454
00:38:02,747 --> 00:38:05,283
It takes two darts to
put her on the ground.
455
00:38:40,785 --> 00:38:44,689
[♪ Intense music playing]
456
00:38:47,592 --> 00:38:49,694
[Frank] Jomo is running
away now as well.
457
00:38:49,828 --> 00:38:51,729
We're clear. He
has left the area.
458
00:38:57,735 --> 00:39:01,973
[Thomas] The surrogate is
down, the bull is away,
459
00:39:02,574 --> 00:39:04,742
and now Frank is
preparing the anesthesia.
460
00:39:11,683 --> 00:39:13,718
[overlapping chatter]
461
00:39:13,852 --> 00:39:15,420
[Frank] Yeah.
462
00:39:15,553 --> 00:39:17,856
Can we have some water
here for, to clean the ear?
463
00:39:22,493 --> 00:39:23,795
Yeah, yeah.
464
00:39:26,531 --> 00:39:27,699
You okay? You need help?
465
00:39:27,832 --> 00:39:28,600
Yeah.
466
00:39:28,733 --> 00:39:30,768
Wait. Push it a
little bit over there.
467
00:39:31,836 --> 00:39:32,904
Get the leg out.
468
00:39:33,037 --> 00:39:33,972
Okay guys.
469
00:39:34,105 --> 00:39:35,673
One, two, three.
470
00:39:35,807 --> 00:39:36,941
One, two, three.
471
00:39:37,242 --> 00:39:38,509
One, two, three.
472
00:39:38,776 --> 00:39:39,677
One, two, three.
473
00:39:39,811 --> 00:39:42,914
Get the leg out.
One, two, three.
474
00:39:44,515 --> 00:39:45,850
Yeah, good.
475
00:39:47,051 --> 00:39:48,653
Yeah, have a look, wait.
476
00:39:52,490 --> 00:39:54,075
[Thomas] So we get a call
and then we start our
477
00:39:54,158 --> 00:39:56,728
procedure here and
joining them very soon
478
00:39:57,061 --> 00:39:58,061
for the transfer.
479
00:40:13,478 --> 00:40:14,529
[Julia] This perfect
little embryo,
480
00:40:14,612 --> 00:40:17,382
which is barely
visible with the eye,
481
00:40:17,515 --> 00:40:21,619
to thaw it in a safe way,
it is very stressful, yes.
482
00:40:29,594 --> 00:40:32,030
[Thomas] Embryo
delivery is coming!
483
00:40:32,163 --> 00:40:33,731
[cheering]
484
00:40:50,114 --> 00:40:51,749
[Thomas] We have
in our catheter,
485
00:40:51,883 --> 00:40:55,787
this little tiny 100
micrometer big object which
486
00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:58,856
we transfer into
this gigantic uterus.
487
00:40:59,257 --> 00:41:00,892
It's a very
complicated procedure.
488
00:41:01,993 --> 00:41:05,129
So we are aware that every
step of that is so sensitive,
489
00:41:05,263 --> 00:41:06,931
it can easily fail.
490
00:41:07,231 --> 00:41:10,168
It's a very tense procedure
for everyone involved.
491
00:41:36,027 --> 00:41:37,128
[cheering]
492
00:41:37,261 --> 00:41:39,097
[Thomas] It's in, yeah.
493
00:41:45,670 --> 00:41:48,439
The embryo was released
and this incredible
494
00:41:48,573 --> 00:41:52,110
moment we have all been
dreaming of for so long has
495
00:41:52,243 --> 00:41:53,678
finally been achieved.
496
00:41:54,812 --> 00:41:56,748
We placed it in an
optimal position,
497
00:41:56,881 --> 00:42:01,018
so we are quite hopeful that
this first attempt in the world
498
00:42:01,152 --> 00:42:03,521
ever has success.
499
00:42:03,888 --> 00:42:06,724
Now it's on nature and
praying and we will see
500
00:42:06,858 --> 00:42:08,192
what, what happens.
501
00:42:10,161 --> 00:42:13,498
[Ami] This moment, I haven't
actually fully processed it yet.
502
00:42:14,132 --> 00:42:19,570
Today, I am reminded that it
takes these kinds of people
503
00:42:19,704 --> 00:42:22,507
reimagining a world
where we can save species
504
00:42:22,640 --> 00:42:24,809
literally from the
brink of extinction.
505
00:42:26,044 --> 00:42:27,612
[Thomas] Historical moment.
506
00:42:28,980 --> 00:42:31,582
Good. Now...
507
00:42:32,650 --> 00:42:33,951
[sighs]
38486
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