Northern white rhino: Last male Sudan dies in Kenya

The world’s last surviving male northern white rhino has died after months of poor health, his carers say.

Sudan, who was 45, lived at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. He was put to sleep on Monday after age-related complications worsened significantly.

His death leaves only two females – his daughter and granddaughter – of the subspecies alive in the world.

Hope for preserving the northern white rhino now lies in developing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques.

“His death is a cruel symbol of human disregard for nature and it saddened everyone who knew him,” said Jan Stejskal, an official at Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic, where Sudan had lived until 2009.

“But we should not give up,” he added in quotes carried by AFP news agency.

“We must take advantage of the unique situation in which cellular technologies are utilised for conservation of critically endangered species. It may sound unbelievable, but thanks to the newly developed techniques even Sudan could still have an offspring.”

Published by Mbilinyi-Wildlife

Conservation has always been a major part of my life. Growing up I revered leaders like famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and conservationist Jane Goodall, and I dreamed of becoming a swayful wildlife conservationist one day. Some of my fondest memories are of exploring the Amani forests with my college's friend, learning about both the awesome power of nature  the threats to its well being. I ultimately pursued a career in wildlife management at college of African wildlife management -Mweka and my friends too become a conservationists. Together, we founded Saviours of Wildlife with our slogan that Who pays for wildlife and who benefits?.  I recognize there are many conservation organizations doing incredible work on behalf of our planet and the many species who call it home. I wanted to create an organization that complemented and collaborated with these organizations, so we chose to focus on protecting lesser-known endangered species. My speech If there’s one thing we know about life on Earth, it is that all of our diverse animals, plants, soil structures and waterways are interconnected in complex ways, many of which we cannot fully understand. In order to maintain ecological balance, we need to focus on all of the puzzle pieces–and this is becoming harder to do as we lose more and more species to climate change and human activity. Saviors of wildlife focuses on lesser-known species because they are our early-warning signals for larger issues facing the ecosystem. For example, amphibians have a tremendous impact on their environment. They are not the face of environmental conservation in the same way as elephants,rhinoceros or gorillas, but because of their size and genetic makeup, these creatures are much more sensitive to climate change. For example, saviour of wildlife is working to save  amphibians, reptiles but also supporting efforts of conserving big wildlife like Rhino, giraffe and elephants through conservation education and capacity building to wildlife practititoners.  Saviours of wildlife is also working to save the world’s most endangered marine mammals. Only about 30% are left in the wild due to them becoming entangled in gill nets set for illegal fishing activities.The marine creatures are the most endangered Species. Our planet is facing a biodiversity crisis. Last month , I was fortunate to share comment  with Jane Goodall to discuss this critical issue. She reminded the word that she spoke to me 5 years ago “don’t forget, every single one of you makes a difference every single day.” As we sit on the brink of losing thousands of more species, throwing our future into jeopardy, I am now asking you to make smart decisions .Please join us in reversing this crisis and making our collective future more secure contact Brighton Mbilinyi, saviours of wildlife,college of African wildlife management. brightonfrancis91@gmail.com +255756 525739

Leave a comment