This is Sudan.
He is the world’s last male Northern White Rhino and he lives in a reserve in Kenya called the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, with two other female Northern White Rhinos. The problem – Sudan has a low sperm count and the females, Najin and Fatu, are too old to reproduce.
This is basically the end of the line. And this tweet by activist and biologist Daniel Schneider is a powerful assertion of how we have managed to drive another subspecies to extinction.
Rhinos are poached for their ivory horns. The same reason why Sudan’s horn was cut off – to protect him from poachers. Not just that, he has round-the-clock body guards for protection as well.
It’s just another sad story of how we are destroying our planet. Animals were here long before we came, but we took survival of the fittest to a whole new level and marred it with personal and monetary gain.
The tweet has sparked a major debate.
Scientists are trying in-vitro fertilisation or stem cell technology, hoping to preserve some sperm and inseminate female Southern White Rhinos. As for Sudan, his lineage ends here.
And if you think about it, is it really a wake up call? Or are we already too late?
Mohammed Doyo, one of the Sudan’s caretaker, said, “We can watch him getting older, and it’s sad for us.”
(Also read: Northern White Rhinos Have 24×7 Bodyguards Because There Are Just 3 Of Them Left In The World)