Last male of rhino species falls ill

THE world’s only remaining male northern white rhino has been battling with a life-threatening ailment, throwing the world’s conservationists into a spin.

The 45-year-old giant land mammal, named Sudan, has been sheltered at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in the northern Kenyan county of Laikipia, and has lately grappled with an infection on his right hind leg, undermining his capacity to roam around and forage.

Sudan’s health remained critical, though veterinarians have been attending to him twice a day, Elodie Sampere, communications manager at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, told Xinhua.

“There has been no significant improvement in the health of Sudan and doctors are on standby to administer treatment twice a day,” Sampere said, adding that conservationists and scientists were still hopeful the ailment would be overcome. Conservationists from all over the world have been fascinated by the last remaining male northern white rhino, with concerted efforts to prolong its lifespan.

Under a “Last Chance to Survive” breeding programme supported by global wildlife campaigners, Sudan and two of his female partners were relocated to their current abode in northern Kenya in 2009 to induce their breeding through a conducive natural habitat.

However, due to advanced age, Sudan was unable to breed with his female partners, Fatu and Najin, adding to the fear that the white rhino subspecies was on the verge of extinction.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy last year kicked off a global campaign to save the world’s last remaining subspecies of white rhinos through in vitro fertilisation. Among the modern reproductive technologies, scientists

DUE TO HIS AGE, SUDAN WAS UNABLE TO BREED WITH HIS FEMALE PARTNERS

are considering using southern white rhinos as surrogates to carry the northern white rhino’s embryos, which would cost as much as $1 million (R11.8m).

The campaign hit a crescendo last year when a dating app, Tinder, named Sudan the most eligible bachelor in the world. Since then, well-wishers have made considerable donations to support the surrogate birth. In January, two globally renowned monumental sculpture artists, Gillie and Marc Schattner, announced that they were carving three giant rhino sculptures that would be unveiled in New York City to raise awareness on the plight of the only three remaining northern white rhino on the planet.

According to Kenya Wildlife Service, the global population of northern white rhino subspecies stood at about 2 000 in the 1960s but it shrank to the current three due to poaching and habitat loss. The fate of northern white rhino is just the tip of the iceberg.

According to the 2016 Living Planet Report by the World Wildlife Fund, the global population of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles declined by 58% between 1970 and 2012. The organisation added that 0.01 to 0.1% of all species would go extinct each year, at an unprecedented speed between 1 000 and 10 000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. – Xinhua