the death of Sudan, the last male northern white rhinoceros

Ol Pejeta conservancy, Kenya: the place hosts the last northern white rhinoceros community, two female and a male, Sudan, the “gentle giant” who has died on 19th of march, put down after a great pain from a degenerative illness.

So there are still two female examples of this particular rhino, and they are the last hope to protect and conserve the species from extinction. In fact, before Sudan’s death, genetic material was collected from him in order to stop the end of the species through “advanced cellular technologies”.

Why northern white rhino is so close to extinction? During the colonial era, this rhino was submitted to uncontrolled hunting, and nowadays he is poached for his horn.

Sudan, who was 45, survived the species’ near-extinction in the 1970s and was taken to Dvůr Králové zoo in the Czech Republic. He was eventually moved back to Africa and, according to those who worked in the Ol Pejeta conservancy, “stole the heart of many with his dignity and strength”. Elodie Sampere, a representative for Ol Pejeta, remembers him as a gentle giant with an amazing personality.

When the veterinary team euthanized him, he was unable to stand and was visibly suffering.

“We on Ol Pejeta are all saddened by Sudan’s death,” said Richard Vigne, Ol Pejeta’s chief executive “One day, his demise will hopefully be seen as a seminal moment for conservationists worldwide.”

The hope for continuing the species lies in artificially inseminating either Najin or her daughter, Fatu.