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The last remaining male Northern White rhino died yesterday, Monday 19, in Kenya, leaving only two females of the species alive on the planet.
Sudan, as the rhino was named, was 45 years old and died from untreatable and debilitating health problems, according to Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy. “Sudan was being treated for age-related complications that led to degenerative changes in muscles and bones combined with extensive skin wounds. His condition worsened significantly in the last 24 hours; he was unable to stand up and was suffering a great deal,” the conservancy said. They therefore made the decision along with the Kenya Wildlife Service and veterinarians at Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic, to euthanise him.
The rhino refused to mate naturally, so in an innovative attempt to raise the $9m needed for fertility treatment to ‘save the species’, Sudan was signed up to the dating app Tinder, where he was described as ‘The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World’.
“In the 1970s, he escaped extinction of his kind in the wild when he was moved to Dvůr Králové Zoo. Throughout his existence, he significantly contributed to survival of his species as he sired two females,” said the Conservancy. “During his final years, Sudan came back to Africa and stole the hearts of many with his dignity and strength.”
The rhino’s genetic material was collected yesterday, with the only hope for the preservation of this subspecies now lying in “developing in-vitro fertilisation techniques using eggs from the two remaining females, stored Northern White rhino semen from males and surrogate Southern White rhino females.”
Source: tourismupdate.co.za
