Sudan : A Trageic Wake Up Call
credit : Ami Vitale
‘Want to know what extinction looks like? This is the last male Northern White Rhino. The last. Nevermore.' posted Daniel Schneider, a biologist from Boston, on Twitter in November last year. Little did he know that 4 months later, Sudan would have passed away leaving nothing but the stark realisation that this was our last chance to save the Northern White Rhino.
In 2009, Sudan was air-lifted from Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic all the way to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. It was hoped the more natural environment would stimulate the rhinos into reproducing, but all breeding attempts were futile. In a bid to pull the species back from the brink, a Tinder profile was set up for Sudan in November, dubbing him ‘the most eligible bachelor in the world’, to help raise awareness for the plight of his fading species. The profile linked to a fundraising page to help raise money to develop IVF-like treatments to artificially create a new breed line and save the species from becoming truly extinct as natural methods were no longer viable. Costing close to $9 million though, many conservationists argue this money could be put to better use protecting species that are still alive.
Special contribution letter from IVSA SCAW for the death of Sudan
the last northern white rhino