03/11/2025
I ♥️ rhino
The northern white rhinoceros has reached the point of being declared functionally extinct. According to Yale Environment 360, the last known male, named Sudan, died in 2018 at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. His death left behind only two females, Najin and her daughter Fatu, who are still alive today under 24 hour armed guard. With no surviving males, natural reproduction is no longer possible for the subspecies.
According to Saving Private Rhino, the northern white rhino once roamed across central Africa in large numbers, but decades of poaching for horns and habitat loss reduced the population to just a handful. The loss of Sudan marked the end of any chance for the species to recover on its own. Scientists now describe the subspecies as functionally extinct, meaning it cannot survive without human intervention.
Despite this, conservationists have not given up. According to Exploring Animals, researchers are working on advanced reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization and stem cell research. Eggs have been harvested from Najin and Fatu, and frozen s***m from deceased males is being used to create embryos. These embryos are intended to be implanted into surrogate southern white rhinos, a closely related subspecies that is still relatively numerous.
As of today, Najin and Fatu remain at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, living under constant protection. Their survival is a powerful reminder of the devastating impact of human activity on wildlife, but also of the extraordinary lengths science and conservation are going to in order to prevent total extinction.
