The last male northern white rhino in the world has died in captivity in Kenya, bringing the subspecies closer to extinction.
“His condition worsened significantly in the last 24 hours; he was unable to stand up and was suffering a great deal,” it said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
His death leaves only two females of the subspecies alive - his daughter Najin and granddaughter Fatu, who remain at the Kenyan wildlife centre.
Sudan made headlines last year after conservationists signed him up to the dating app Tinder to try and raise money for fertility treatment.
The only hope in preserving the subspecies now lies in developing IVF techniques. “Luckily, we have plenty of rhino semen,” Ol Pejeta’s Richard Vigne told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme.
The process would involve using eggs from the two remaining females, stored northern white rhino semen from males and surrogate southern white rhino females.
Poaching has brought the northern white rhinos to the brink of extinction. Their horns are sold for up to £50,000 a kilo on the black market.
“Sudan was the last northern white rhino that was born in the wild,” said Jan Stejskal of Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic, where Sudan lived until 2009. “His death is a cruel symbol of human disregard for nature and it saddened everyone who knew him.”
But there is good news elsewhere, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says.
The southern white rhino has recovered from a population of fewer than 100 in the late 19th century to just over 20,000 today, and rhino poaching in Nepal has been reduced to almost zero, it reports.
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
