Death of Sudan the rhino may spell end of his species

A RHINO subspecies slipped closer to extinction yesterday after its last male had to be put down due to old age.

Sudan, aged 45, was so ill that he could not stand up.

The only northern white rhinoceroses left are his daughter Najin and granddaughter Fatu.

The last hope for the subspecies – one of five types of rhino – now lies in artificial insemination using eggs from the two females, stored northern white rhino semen and surrogate southern white rhino females.

Genetic

Genetic material was taken from Sudan, right – known as The Last Male Standing – the day before he died at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy. He moved there in 2009 from a Czech zoo.

Sudan won worldwide fame last year when he was put on the dating app Tinder to raise money for rhino IVF.

He was born in the wild in 1973 when about 500 northern white rhinos ranged across Uganda, Chad, Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

But his breed was virtually wiped out by an orgy of poaching in the 1970s and 1980s to supply demand for rhino horn.

It was used for dagger handles in Arabia and in powdered form is still seen as a cure-all in traditional Chinese medicine.

Sudan, who was captured from the wild in 1975, and his two offspring had to be kept under armed guard in Kenya.

Heather Sohl of conservation charity WWF said: “The death of Sudan is heartbreaking. We’re seeing the extinction of the northern white rhino right before our eyes, driven by the insatiable demand for their horns.

“To ensure other wildlife doesn’t suffer this fate, we need strong action such as cutting demand, cracking down on corruption and improving enforcement.”

The Ol Pejeta Conservancy said: “Sudan will be remembered for the work he did to raise awareness globally of the plight facing not only rhinos, but also the many thousands of other species facing extinction. One day, his demise will hopefully be seen as a seminal moment for conservationists world wide.”

In Africa there are about 20,000 southern white rhinos which have recovered from just 100 in 1895 and 5,000 black rhinos.

The other species – Shorter horned rhinos, Sumatran rhino and the Javan Rhino – are found in Asia.