The world’s last surviving male northern white rhino, Sudan, has died at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy leaving only two females left to save the subspecies from extinction.
The 45-year-old rhino had been in poor health in recent days and was being treated for age-related issues and multiple infections.
The veterinary team from the Dv?r Králové Zoo, Ol Pejeta and Kenya Wildlife Service made the decision to euthanize him.
Ol Pejeta’s Chief executive, Richard Vigne, the veterinary team from Ol Pejeta, Czech Republic’s Dv?r Králové Zoo and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), reached the decision on realising Sudan’s health was deteriorating by the day despite efforts to re-invigorate his immune system.
“Sudan was being treated for age-related complications that led to degenerative changes in muscles and bones combined with extensive skin wounds. His condition worsened significantly in the last 24 hours that he was unable to stand up and was suffering a great deal.
“We on Ol Pejeta are all saddened by Sudan’s death. He was a great ambassador for his species and 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 as a result of unsustainable human activity,” said the CEO in a statement Tuesday.
It is with great sadness that Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the Dv?r Králové Zoo announce that Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino, age 45, died at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya on March 19th, 2018 (yesterday). #SudanForever #TheLoneBachelorGone #Only2Left pic.twitter.com/1ncvmjZTy1
— Ol Pejeta (@OlPejeta) March 20, 2018
Sudan escaped extinction in the 70’s when he was living in the wild and was moved to Dv?r Králové Zoo where he sired two females, his daughter Najin and their granddaughter, Fatu both living at Ol Pejeta.
Researchers were able to save some of Sudan’s genetic material in the hopes of successfully artificially inseminating one of the two females left, Sampere said.
“The only hope for the preservation of this subspecies now lies in developing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques using eggs from the two remaining females, stored northern white rhino semen from males and surrogate southern white rhino females,” said the statement.
Rhinos are targeted by poachers, fueled by the belief in Asia that their horns cure various ailments. Experts say the rhino horn is becoming more lucrative than drugs.
In addition to round-the-clock security, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy also put radio transmitters on the animals and dispatched incognito rangers into neighboring communities to gather intelligence on poaching.
Sudan will be remembered for his unusually memorable life.
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