The last remaining male northern white rhino in the world , Sudan , has died, leaving this subspecies on the brink of complete extinction: only two females remain alive on the planet: Najin and Fatu, both descendants of Sudan.
The animal had been suffering from age-related health problems in addition to a number of infections, according to a statement issued by the conservation center where the rhino spent its final years, Kenya’s OI Pejeta nature reserve.
Aged 45, his condition worsened to the point that he lost mobility. Therefore, the officers made the decision to euthanize him.
“Once his condition worsened significantly and he was unable to stand up and was evidently suffering greatly, the decision to euthanize was made by his veterinary team.”
Richard Vigne, CEO of the Ol Pejeta nature reserve, has issued a statement on Facebook where they express their feelings at the news: “We are saddened by the death of Sudan. He was a great ambassador of his species and will be remembered for the work he did to raise global awareness of the plight facing not only rhinos, but also the many thousands of other species facing extinction as a result of unsustainable human activity. One day, their demise will be optimistically viewed as a seminal moment for conservationists around the world. “
Captivity saved his life
Sudan was the last northern white rhino to be captured in captivity at just two years old. It is estimated that he was born between 1973 and 1974 in South Sudan. Due to a rampant problem with poaching in Central Africa at that stage, captivity probably saved his life: in the 1990s, only a few dozen northern white rhinos survived in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
According to Save the Rhino , militant groups from the Second Congo War took advantage of rhinos in Garamba, looted them and sold their horns on the black market to raise funds for the fight. In fact, the last documented sightings of northern white rhinos in the wild occurred in 2006.
However, as the northern white rhino declined, its close relative, the southern white ( Ceratotherium simum simum ) was experiencing a resurgence.
With fewer than 20 animals in the early 1900s, thankfully, it recovered thanks to conservation and controlled hunting efforts, and there are now more than 20,000 southern white rhinos in the wild. But his relatives in the north have not been so lucky. The two subspecies were genetically separated from each other a million years ago , according to a 2010 article published in the journal PLoS ONE.
In a last-ditch effort at natural mating, the Dvůr Králové Zoo moved four northern white rhinos to Ol Pejeta in 2009, including another male, Suni, who died in 2014. Now the only hope to avoid extinction is assisted reproduction.
Therefore, no more northern white rhinos will be born.
Sudan spent his last days in the reserve in a compound guarded by guards with firearms to prevent poaching.
One of the most serious accidents took place in 2017: gunmen raided a rhinoceros orphanage in South Africa, took staff hostage and killed two baby rhinos. A month after that attack, a dead rhino was found in its enclosure at a French zoo with its horn cut off.
