Last male northern white rhino dies in Kenya

Kenya, (Daily Mail), 20 March 2018 -  The last male northern white rhino has died in Kenya at the age of 45, leaving only two females of his subspecies alive.  

The rhino, named Sudan, was suffering from a degenerative muscle and bone condition linked to age when keepers found he was unable to stand up and made the decision to euthanise him on Tuesday.  

Sudan’s demise should spell the end of his subspecies, but scientists have gathered genetic material and hope to develop IVF techniques to produce more white rhinos.A statement from the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, where he was kept under armed guard to prevent poaching, said his condition ‘worsened significantly’ and he was no longer able to stand.   

His muscles and bones had degenerated and his skin had extensive wounds, with a deep infection on his back right leg.  

The rhino had been part of an ambitious effort to save the subspecies from extinction after decades of decimation by poachers, with the help of the two surviving females.   

One is his daughter, Najin, and the other is her daughter, Fatu.