Anti-poaching patrols, captive breeding and habitat protection are among the strategies resorted to by conservationists to increase the population of endangered species.

For the functionally extinct northern white rhinoceros in South Africa, the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (LIZWR) resorted to in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The two remaining females of the species living in a secure reserve in Kenya were LIZWR’s source of oocytes fertilized by sperm from deceased male rhinos to create more than 30 embryos so far.

Southern white rhinos were then used as surrogate mothers for the embryos due to the health issues of source mothers Fatu and Najin, the Natural History Museum reports.

Meanwhile, a biotech company is poised to reproduce an extinct bird species using a new technology.

Colossal Biosciences, which had previously genetically engineered living animals to resemble extinct species, announced in May that it hatched live chicks in an artificial environment.

Twenty-six baby chickens — ranging from a few days to several months old — were born from a 3D-printed lattice structure that mimics an eggshell.

Colossal CEO Ben Lamm said the artificial egg technology (AET) could one day be scaled up to genetically tweak living birds to resemble New Zealand’s extinct moa, CBS News reports.

The 12-foot tall moa’s egg can be 80 times the size of a chicken’s and would be difficult for any modern bird to lay. The AET could be used to reproduce the giant eggs.

In AET, Colossal scientists poured fertilized eggs into the artificial system and placed them in an incubator to grow, according to CBS News.

The AET’s membrane allows the right amount of oxygen to get in, just like a real egg, adds the report.

“This platform could help rescue fragile bird embryos, hatch birds that refuse to breed in captivity, and potentially revive species preserved as frozen cells and DNA,” Colossal said on social media, according to CBS News.