DEATH OF SUDAN, LAST MALE NORTHERN WHITE RHINO IN THE WORLD

Death of Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino.

Sudan was the world’s last male white rhino which had lived for 45 years on this earth. Unfortunately Sudan passed days after his health had worsen following a prolonged leg infection for close to 2 weeks.

This long lived mammal had been taken care of in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, together with his daughter Najin and the grand daughter Fatu.

Sudan was discovered in Sudan, north Africa in 1975 when it was barely 2 years old, it was taken to Dvur Kralove zoo in Czech Republic. This zoo fell into a financial crisis in later years and rhinos failed to breed. Sudan was then moved to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya’s Laikipia district in 2009 with 2 other northern white rhino females, named Fatu and Najin.

Joseph Thaida is the man who has been taking care of Sudan at Ol Pejeta conservancy since 2012 and remembers him as a loving and gentle rhino and it was seen when tourists came for visitation, he would allow them take pictures with him without any harm and these pictures taken with visitors served as the centerpiece of publicity stunts.

Sudan last year became worldly known after getting his own Tinder profile when he brought plight of his subspecies and direct donation towards Ol Pejeta Conservancy for research on assisted reproductive technologies for rhinos. Whenever he hears people talking he loved to come closer because he knew he was to be scratched on his skin, an act he so much adored.

Sudan’s death caused the world to see the shadow of extinction approach on poaching, “tragedy today” the British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted. ”We cannot just sit back and watch more species disappear”.

Sudan’s death has come in period where rhino population around the world stumble on the verge of extinction and largely because of poaching. The rhino horns have been highly demanded and prized in the Chinese traditional medicine.

Sudan had spent the previous years of his life under tight security by the assigned armed guards. Sudan’s horns had been cut off to deter poachers though they had begun to grow back. Regularly his guard’s foiled attacks, but all the effort to save this only left longest white rhino seems to have come very late for a real turn around.

Sudan has been the last northern white rhino that was born in the wild and his death is a tough symbol of human disrespect for nature and saddened those who knew him.

But we shouldn’t give up and we must take the advantage of the unpopular situation in which technologies are used for protecting of critically endangered species. It may sound weird but thanks to the newly advanced techniques even Sudan could still have an offspring.

In an effort to save the rhino species, Uganda has taken a step and established a rhino sanctuary at Ziwa in Nakasongola district enroute to Murchison falls national park and a safari in Uganda will avail a chance of spotting these highly endangered mammals.

Sudan shall ever be remembered as the longest lived male white rhino on this planet, and for the role he played in raising global awareness on the plight befalling not only white rhinos, but also other millions of wildlife species facing extinction as a result of irresponsible human activity, .