Unable to stand, and suffering from a string of infections in his advanced age, the world's last male northern white rhino was euthanized Monday by a veterinary team in Kenya that had fought for years to save him and his dwindling species.
Only two now remain -- the rhino's daughter, Najin, and granddaughter, Fatu -- leaving in-vitro fertilization from preserved sperm as the last tool against extinction.
Sudan, 45, had unsuccessfully tried to mate with females from a related subspecies of rhino found in southern Africa.
The second-to-last male, Suni, died in 2014, possibly from a heart attack. Both Sudan and Suni were likely too old to be fertile by the time they were taken to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya from a zoo in the Czech Republic in 2009.
"We at Ol Pejeta are all saddened by Sudan's death. He was an amazing rhino, a great ambassador for his species, and will be remembered for the work he did to raise awareness globally of the plight facing not only rhinos, but also the many thousands of other species facing extinction as a result of unsustainable human activity," Richard Vigne, chief executive officer of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, said in a statement.
"One day, his demise will hopefully be seen as a seminal moment for conservationists worldwide."
Sudan's death comes as other rhino populations around the world teeter on the brink of extinction, largely from poaching. Rhino horn has been highly prized in Chinese traditional medicine and as a decorative component of daggers carried by many Yemeni men.
Around 30,000 rhinos from five species remain worldwide.
Two species in Indonesia, the Sumatran and Javan rhinos, have about 100 individuals left.
A Section on 03/21/2018