Basically populations that don't even see each other can theoretically breed and ensure genetic diversity and the continued existence of the species. The other part of the mission, genome resource banking, means obtaining and freezing sperm, egg-cells and embryos. It's a safety net against extinction. The WBRC is also the only organisation in Africa that has made real progress in finding out the details of how wild animals breed. Some of the existing knowledge could be carried over to wild animals.
Buffalo are very similar to cows, so that was fairly easy.
Rhino, on the other hand, are totally different to anything anyone has studied. Even finding the right temperature and medium in which to freeze the sperm had to be found out by trial and error. The WBRC probably has the best white rhino sperm stores in the world at the moment. It's simply too expensive, he said, but if a university made a breakthrough, the WBRC would probably work with them and carry forward the technology. The problem, as always, is money.