Sudan, The Last Male Northern White Rhino On Earth Has Just Died And It's Made Us All Super Depressed
Another beautiful species faces extinction.
Mankind has ripped another beautiful, graceful animal from the clutches of this earth. On Monday, March 19th, the 45-year-old sole surviving male, white rhino died on the conservatory in Kenya he had been living at for the last decade. His name was Sudan and the people who have worked desperately and tirelessly to try and save his species are beside themselves with grief as his passing officially signifies the extinction of his species.
The Ol Pejeta Conservatory in Kenya broke the news on Twitter the day after his passing:
His name was Sudan, because that is where he was born in the wild. At some point in his youth, Sudan was sent to live at the Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic, and he spent most of his entire life there until, in 2009, he was transferred to the Kenyan conservatory in the hopes that living in a more natural environment with two females would provide the perfect opportunity needed to save the species from extinction.
Ol Pejeta Conservatory
They also removed his horn to further protect him from poachers.
Ol Pejeta Conservatory
Sadly though, Sudan was not a young rhino and in his advanced age the attempts to have him reproduce with the females were never met with success.
Ol Pejeta Conservatory
This lack of success created panic as his keepers were increasingly rushed by the ticking of time to save the species from certain extinction. As Sudan's health continued to deteriorate, the conservatory released a statement on December 5th:
Preparations have kicked off in Kenya and Europe for the long-anticipated procedure that is hoped to help to save the northern white rhinos from the brink of extinction. With only three aging northern white rhino individuals left, this subspecies faces extinction if new representative offspring are not produced.
Ol Pejeta Conservatory
In fact, for the last two years experts from Dvůr Králové Zoo, IZW Berlin and Avantea Institute in Cremona, Italy have all been working diligently on a dedicated plan to save northern white rhinos from extinction... even if Sudan were to die! How? Their goal is to use a southern white rhino surrogate to carry a northern white rhino embryo that was created through in vitro fertilization! For this very purpose, sperm from long-deceased northern white rhino males have been stored in Berlin, Germany for quite some time. Naijn and Fatu, 28 and17 years-old, the northern white rhinos still living, will have their eggs harvested to be fertilized with the stored sperm in a lab!
Imgur
The conservatory is both optimistic and realistic, stating in a written post:
The fate of the northern white rhino subspecies depends on this operation going smoothly.
This species-saving strategy has yet to be used on rhinos so the future remains unclear. However, the dedication and determination humans are taking to undo this man-made curse of extinction is not only heart-warming but a sure sign that humanity is not worth losing hope on.
And yes, the dwindling numbers of rhinoceroses is absolutely a man-made curse.
Express.uk
The keratin in rhino horns is believed by many in Asia to have completely unfounded medical benefits from curing hangovers to curing cancer.
thesouthafrican
Keratin, by the way, is the same substance as your human finger nails and that little fun-fact should help you understand just how ridiculous it is that mankind has driven multiple sub-species of rhinos to near-extinction over their horns!
Reader's Digest
Earlier this year, Sudan had an age-related infection in his leg and although the treatments seemed to show early improvement, he took a turn for the worst. When he was no longer able to stand, the conservatory humanely put him down.
Ol Pejeta Conservatory
Rest in Peace, Sudan.
The world surely mourns the loss of this incredible beast.
Ol Pejeta Conservatory
Check out this video of Sudan, while you're here!
Elana
