Worlds last male northern white rhino dies at Ol Pejeta

Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino, has died at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya at the age of 45.

Sudan was being treated for age-related complications when his condition worsened in the last 24 hours and the veterinary team made the decision to euthanize him on Monday night.

In a statement, Ol Pejeta Conservancy narrated how Sudan will be remembered for his unusually memorable life.

In the 1970s, Sudan escaped extinction of his kind in the wild when he was moved to Dvůr Králové Zoo and throughout his existence, he significantly contributed to survival of his species as he sired two females.

During his final years, Sudan came back to Africa and stole the heart of many with his dignity and strength.

“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. One day, his demise will hopefully be seen as a seminal moment for conservationists world wide,” said Richard Vigne, Ol Pejeta’s CEO.

By 2008, the northern white rhino was considered by most experts to be extinct in the wild.

In 2009, the last four fertile northern white rhinos – two males and two females – were moved to Ol Pejeta from Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic, with support from Fauna & Flora International and the Kenya Wildlife Service. It was hoped that the climate and rich grasslands of the Conservancy, similar to the native habitat of this subspecies, would provide them with more favourable breeding conditions.

On arrival at Ol Pejeta, the four were placed under 24 hour armed surveillance, and fed a supplemented diet.

However, despite the fact that they were seen mating, there were no successful pregnancies.

With options running out, scientists are attempting to develop “artificial reproductive techniques” (or ARTs), including IVF to rescue this subspecies.

His genetic material was collected and provides a hope for future attempts at reproduction of northern white rhinos through advanced cellular technologies.

To that end, Ol Pejeta Conservancy and Dvůr Králové Zoo are now partnering with IZW Berlin, Avantea Cremona and the Kenya Wildlife Service to try and conduct the first-ever procedure to safely remove egg cells from remaining females, fertilize these with semen previously collected from northern white males, and insert the resulting embryos into female southern white rhinos acting as surrogates.

This has never been done before in rhinos and does not come without risks.

Sudan’s death leaves just two female northern white rhinos on the planet; his daughter Najin and her daughter Fatu, who remain at Ol Pejeta.