Last of the Northern White Rhinos

The photo above, taken in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya on 12 January 2013, fortuitously captures the only four Northern White Rhinos alive in the world at the time. Two of these were males and two females. The very last members of this critically endangered sub-species of Rhinos.

Of the two males, one died of natural causes in late 2014. Tragically the last surviving male of the species died on 19 March 2018. His medical condition had worsened, and he was no longer able to stand up, so his veterinary team decided to euthanize him. Sudan was 45 years old, and his health had deteriorated after a severe leg infection.

With only two female rhinos of the species now alive, who are not capable of producing the next generation (even with artificial insemination) – one is sterile and the other is not fit enough to carry, this species is close to extinction,

The white rhinoceros consists of two sub-species: the southern white rhino and the on the verge of extinction northern white rhino. An attempt is now being made to extract the eggs from the northern white female and fertilize (IVF) them with the sperms of the northern white males already extracted earlier and preserved. The resultant embryo will then be implanted into a female of southern white rhino species to act as a surrogate.

While it is uncertain if the above scientific attempts to save the species will succeed, tragically however, there will not be another natural born Northern White Rhino.

Interestingly, the term ‘white rhino’ itself is a misnomer. All rhinos are grey in colour. It is understood that the ‘white’ in the name is a distortion of the Afrikaans word ‘wyd’ meaning ‘wide’. These rhinos have a rectangular face and thus a wide jaw line whereas the other rhino species have a triangular face and therefore a narrow jaw line.