Worlds last male northern white rhino, Sudan, age 45, has died.

[greyl]

Link to tweet

Sudan will be remembered for his unusually memorable life. In the 1970s, he escaped extinction of his kind in the wild when he was moved to Dvůr Králové Zoo. Throughout his existence, he significantly contributed to survival of his species as he sired two females.

“We on Ol Pejeta are all saddened by Sudan’s death. He was 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. One day, his demise will hopefully be seen as a seminal moment for conservationists world wide,” said Richard Vigne, Ol Pejeta’s CEO.

The only hope for the preservation of this subspecies now lies in developing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques using eggs from the two remaining females, stored northern white rhino semen from males and surrogate southern white rhino females.

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[StarryNite]

1. Extinction is forever

I hope they are successful in preserving this subspecies.

[diva77]

2. Devastating

K&R for exposure

[Raine]

3. So sad

heartbreaking...

[Old Vet]

4. Maybe someone should explain the word extinction to the trumps...............

I cannot in words describe how I detest trophy hunters...

[Lee-Lee]

12. This has nothing to do with trophy hunters

The extinction is at the hand of poachers.

The poachers go after them because some Asian cultures, particularly in China and Vietnam, believe powdered rhino horn to be a powerful medicine with magic powers and others view possession of rhino horn as a status symbol.

Demand is particularly driven by the rising middle class in Vietnam. They will pay up to $100,000 per kg for horn there, meaning rhino horn is literally worth more than its weight in gold. There it is believed to cure everything from hangovers to cancer.

So while I don’t like trophy hunters either, direct your anger in the right direction on this one.

[pyro_archvile]

5. The Sixth Mass Extinction continues. nt

[Delphinus]

13. True.

And welcome to DU.

[Freedomofspeech]

6. Heartbreaking.

[Submariner]

7. At least the Trumps or their fellow mental midget murderer

pals did not get a chance to shoot him.

Very sad day for humanity. Gives the sixth extinction a big boost.

[Behind the Aegis]

8. Sad.

[MrsCoffee]

9. Damnit.

That is heartbreaking.

[Hortensis]

10. Sad, but I'm sure we have Sudan's DNA also,

and that of others, and someday we will be able to continue this species from that.

Immersion in America's current political problems may make it seem like our world has retreated into fear and negativism from hope and commitment to progress, but that's simply not true. Both live on in billions of people, including many, many millions right here.

[greyl]

11. Yes, that's some small consolation.

If the conditions that lead to this aren't rectified, what's the use.

The only hope for the preservation of this subspecies now lies in developing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques using eggs from the two remaining females, stored northern white rhino semen from males and surrogate southern white rhino females.

Link to tweet