Thanks to my sister Michelle McIlroy for designing the logo!

Welcome!

Ever since I was a child, I have been very interested in nature and the environment. I have a B.S. degree in wildlife biology, and have worked as a zookeeper, wildlife biologist, and ecologist. I am conducting a brief survey of world leaders, government officials, religious leaders, corporate CEOs, environmental groups, wildlife experts, and others regarding nature and the environment. I am also very interested in religious views, customs, and beliefs from around the world, and the interactions between religion, culture, society, and the environment. This is something I am doing out of personal interest, and is not connected to any group or organization. I have been working on this project since the summer of 2006, and hope to eventually turn it into a book and/or documentary. I am hoping to make this into a global project, with responses from all segments of society. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or comments. If you have not already done so, I hope that you will consider taking part in my project, and please spread the word to anyone you think might be interested! Thanks for stopping by!

TAKE THE SURVEY ONLINE HERE http://tinyurl.com/nx4ng7

August 18, 2015

Make a Rhino, Save a Species

Sharing this on behalf of Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya and Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic.




#makearhino



The recent death of a northern white rhino in Dvůr Králové Zoo, Czech Republic has left just four of this subspecies in existence – three females and one male. None are capable of natural reproduction, and the extinction of the northern white rhino is a very real and very imminent probability – unless a technique for rhino IVF and embryo transfer can be funded, developed, tested and implemented in time.



Three of the last northern white rhino (including the last male northern white in existence) reside in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, who are partnering with Dvůr Králové Zoo and other organisations to try and develop a way to safely remove egg cells from remaining females, fertilize these with semen collected from northern white males, and use a female southern white rhino as a surrogate. This has never been done before, and does not come without risks. What’s more, if the remaining females die before this method has been developed, one of the last chances to save the northern white rhinos will vanish.

The estimated cost of IVF and embryo transfer – from the development of the method, to trials and implantation is estimated at approximately £0.5m ($0.8m). Yet this is the only hope for preserving an entire subspecies.

Ol Pejeta and Dvůr Králové Zoo have launched a Gofundme campaign entitled ‘Make a Rhino’ to try and raise the money needed to save the northern white rhino before it’s too late. All funds raised on the online platform go directly to the IVF initiative, and they are appealing to supporters around the globe to donate to the cause. www.gofundme.com/makearhino