There are three northern white rhinoceroses left. The last male of this subspecies lives in Kenya and is already quite old for his kind of animal. He is ailing now.
But recently, a secondary and much deeper infection was discovered beneath the initial one and Sudan was taking longer to recover, "despite the best efforts of his team of vets who are giving him 24-hour care", the organisation said.
There are two other white rhinos left in the world – a female named Najin and daughter Fatu, both also living at the conservancy in Kenya. Health problems or their ages – around 28 and 17, respectively – have left them unable to reproduce.
Wildlife experts and conservationists expressed deep regret over the prospect of the northern white rhino completely dying out. Technically, the species is already classified as extinct because it no longer exists in the wild, conservationists said.
The last few there and elsewhere have been protected 24/7 by heavily armed guard to try to slow down poaching. However, poaching and the other underlying reasons for the impending extinction are unlikely to be solved within the next few decades.
Sources:
Last male northern white rhino Sudan falls ill as species edges closer to extinction. South China Morning Post
The world's last male northern white rhino is on death watch. CNN
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday March 05 2018, @01:30AM (1 child)
Agreed, it's too late for the white rhino - move on.
Doubly agreed, the real lesson here is to stem the tide before all we have left is h. sapiens and pond scum. Heh, funny memory of Douglas Adams' proposed origin of life on Earth: seeded here by aliens who expected to grow steaks from scum eaters, maybe this is all just part of their plan, and we're the steaks.
Especially now, 150 years ago it was all the rage to strike out from Europe, kick ass on some foreign people and start a colony of whites - paid well too. 30 years ago the writing was clear on the wall for whites in SA, and I knew some who were leaving then. Ones that are still hanging around in-country must have a special kind of optimism.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 05 2018, @06:40AM
Pretty sure that was Larry Niven, 'Bordered in Black'.
Douglas Adams had life starting when a time traveller dropped a sandwich. (Dirk Gently series)