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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Sam.

In this programme, we'll be hearing a new story linked to the nature

versus nurture debate, not concerning a human, but a rhinoceros.

The extremely rare northern white rhino of East Africa was on the brink of extinction

when the second to last living male, Sonny, died in 2014, leaving behind two females,

Nagin and Fattu, the last living creatures of their species.

Conservationist started an artificial breeding programme using eggs from the females

and sperm from Sonny to produce an embryo, an unborn animal in the very early stages of development.

Recently, there's been a new development in the story,

but before we hear more, it's time for my quiz question.

The name rhinoceros comes from the ancient Greek, but what exactly does it mean?

Is it a, thick skin, b, horned nose, or c, small i?

Ooh, that's a tricky one because rhinos have all three.

Okay, I'll guess a, thick skin.

Okay, Sam will find out later.

Now let's get back to the story of those precious northern rhino embryos.

Well, the good news is that so far five embryos have been produced.

They're being frozen until they can be implanted in southern rhinos.

The northern species is more common cousin.

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