Death of Sudan
Once they used to roam in abundance over parts of Uganda, Chad, Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Northern White Rhinos (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) are now on the verge of extinction. Only two females, Najin and Fatu, are residing in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The species is thus functionally extinct, that is, this species no longer plays a significant role in their ecosystem. The last male of the species, Sudan, died at the age of 45 on 19th March 2018 at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. The three rhinos were brought from the Dvur Kralove Zoo, Czech Republic, in 2009.
Najin and Fatu - Mother and Daughter
Sudan, When He Was Alive
Cause of Extinction
This oldest group of mammals on earth, whose population stood at around one hundred thousand in the late 60s, dwindled to a few hundred in the early 1980s. By 2006 only seven survived. With thick-gray skin, wide stature, and 2 vertical horns, these gentle giants had no predators in the wild. It was human greed that brought about their extinction. White rhinos are prime targets for poachers because of the price of their horns which can fetch up to $65,000/kilos. The combined weight of their two horns exceeds 5 kilograms.
Can They Be Brought Back?
While the greed of some caused their extinction, the relentless pursuit of some brilliant human minds is now trying to bring them back from the graves. Before Sudan's death, some of his sperm cells were frozen. Eggs from Najin and Fatu have also been collected by the scientists of BioRescue. 14 of these egg cells have been successfully harvested, from which two viable embryos were successfully created on 13th December 2020 at the Avantea Laboratory in Cremona, Italy. On Christmas Eve they were cryopreserved, when they reached the blastocyst stage. In the next stage, they will be transferred into Southern White surrogate mothers because none of Northern Whites are fit to carry the embryo to full term.
A Baby Step to Back from Extinction
On the other hand, San Diego Frozen Zoo is using emerging stem cell technologies to rescue the Northern White Rhinos and bring them back from extinction. It now remains to be seen whether some baby Northern White Rhino feet roam the earth in the next few years' time.
Armed Guards Protecting the Northern White Rhinos at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy
Sources
A glimmer of hope amongst humankind's never ending greed... Thank you for the lovely share ...