World’s last male northern white rhino dies
On 20 March, it was announced that the last remaining male northern white rhino on Earth, who was named Sudan, had been put down following months of poor health due to old age.
In 1960, it was estimated that 2,000 northern white rhinoceroses roamed Central Africa. However, years of fighting, habitat loss and poaching (the illegal hunting and killing of wild animals) has driven the northern white rhino to the very brink of extinction. Now, with the passing of 45-year-old Sudan, there are just two northern white rhinos left in the whole world: his daughter, Najin, aged 27, and his granddaughter Fatu, who is 17. They live in Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy where they are protected from poachers.
The hope of preserving the northern white rhino now lies with scientists and their ability to use Sudan’s genetic material to artificially reproduce the animal. They plan to do this by combining the stored frozen sperm cells of male northern white rhinos with eggs from Najin and Fatu. This will create what is known as an embryo, which can be placed inside a female southern white rhino to allow the baby northern white rhino to grow.
Paula Kahumbu, from the Wildlife Direct charity in Kenya, says, “We did not do enough to save this majestic species. Now we must stand up and demand action to prevent the same thing happening to cheetah, elephants, black rhinos and giraffes.”