A Species One Step Closer to Extinction

For those of you who don't know, one of the species most closest to extinction is the African Northern White Rhino. There were only 5 left on this planet. Were. Now there are only 4.

Recently, three days ago, I received a heartbreaking email from San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy informing me that a female African white rhino by the name of Nabíre passed away on July 27, 2015 due to medical complications. She was 31 years old.

Nabíre walks around happily in her enclosure. 

Nabíre's death poses an even greater threat to the African White Rhino's existence. There are scattered around the world with only one male left, and the male is getting old. If a species is about to go extinct, what can we do to stop it? Reproduce, of course! Producing more young is the first automatic answer that we all think of. Theoretically, it's possible. Realistically, it's not.

Sudan, the only male left, has had his horns stripped off to not tempt poachers

3 of the now 4 remaining white rhinos live in Kenya, where they are heavily protected by armed guards 24/7 to prevent people from possibly poaching them. The last male left, Sudan, has had his horns stripped off so that poachers wouldn't be tempted to poach him. The other two females also live in Kenya in the same conservation as Sudan, Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Their names are Najin and Fatu. The depressing part? Neither of them are able to naturally carry offspring. Najin is too old to bear the weight of a giant rhino baby, and Fatu has a uterine condition. The other female, Nola, lives at the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy. She, sadly, is well past her reproductive age as well.

Two females, Najin and Fatu, live in Kenya with Sudan.

Scientists are now desperately trying out an alternative to produce more offspring. They are hoping to extract eggs and semen from a male and female and have the egg transferred into an African southern white rhino. Although the job seems easy, since there are still 3 females left, eggs are actually what scientists are lacking. Since the females only ovulate once a month, scientists need find the exact, precise timing to complete the job.

Sudan is heavily armed 24/7 by guards to make sure the last male African Northern White Rhino stays alive as long as possible.

As Premsyl Rabas, director of the Dvur Kralove Zoo, stated in The Huffington Post's "There Are Now Only 4 Northern White Rhinos Left on Earth," "'Nabiré was the kindest rhino ever bred in our zoo. It is not just that we were very fond of her. Her death is a symbol of the catastrophic decline of rhinos due to a senseless human greed. Her species is on the very brink of extinction.'"

The horror of rhino poaching, which many Asian cultures demand for medicinal purposes.

Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/northern-white-rhino-population_55b7d1b9e4b0a13f9d1a83bb
http://news.discovery.com/animals/endangered-species/northern-white-rhino-dies-only-four-left-on-earth-150729.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/16/africa/kenya-northern-white-rhino/