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There are now just six Northern White Rhinos left on earth :(

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P

Protein

Banned
http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/rare-white-rhino-dies-threatening-subspecies-extinction


The northern white rhinoceros is now on the brink of extinction following the death of Suni, a 34-year-old male living at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. He was the last male not considered to be too old to breed, and there are now only six northern white rhinos left on the planet. Suni was discovered dead in his boma (enclosure) on Friday, October 17. A statement from the Conservancy noted that he appears to have died of natural causes; not at the hands of poachers. An autopsy to determine the cause of death has been planned. Northern white rhinos are predicted to live about 40-50 years, but Suni’s father also died of natural causes in his mid-30s.

Suni was the first northern white rhino born in captivity in 1980 at the Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic. He and three others considered to be reproductively viable moved to Ol Pejeta in 2009, as it was believed that a more natural environment would make it easier for them to breed. At the time, there were only eight northern white rhinos, and conservationists were desperate to help save the subspecies. Sadly, the rhinos did not breed naturally, and even efforts to assist breeding were unable to yield a calf.

Northern white rhinos have had a historically small range after separating from the southern whites. They lived in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Chad, Central African Republic, Sudan, and Uganda.

While Suni might not have been killed directly by poachers, humans have played a significant role in the decline of his subspecies. There were over 2,000 wild northern white rhinos in 1960, but habitat destruction and poaching shrunk that number down to only 15 by the end of the 1980s. Dedicated conservation efforts temporarily revived the populations, but the poachers came back stronger.

The last four wild northern white rhinos at Garamba National Park in DRC were slated to be moved to a protected park in Kenya, but were poached before the transfer could take place. Northern whites were declared extinct in the wild in 2008. Ol Pejeta described the northern white’s decline as “a sorry testament to the greed of the human race.”

The tragic loss of Suni has eliminated a lot of hope that the subspecies could be recovered, though conservationists at Ol Pejeta have not given up hope yet. They have frozen sperm from Suni and healthy males in the past and will continue to try to breed the females. If that doesn’t work, they will attempt to breed the northern white females with southern white males. Though this is not ideal, it will help keep the genetic diversity.

Though the world could be about 10 years out from seeing the last of the northern white rhinos die out, the southern population is doing quite well. Southerns have been previously believed to be extinct, but a small group (under 100) was found in 1895. Wild-born southerns breed extremely well in captivity, and there are now over 17,000 southern white rhinos under protection in Africa.
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No words :(
 
A

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
There were over 2,000 wild northern white rhinos in 1960, but habitat destruction and poaching shrunk that number down to only 15 by the end of the 1980s. Dedicated conservation efforts temporarily revived the populations, but the poachers came back stronger.

The last four wild northern white rhinos at Garamba National Park in DRC were slated to be moved to a protected park in Kenya, but were poached before the transfer could take place.
Click to expand...

goddamn poachers
 
T

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
We really need cloning, like yesterday.

Serious question, is anyone saving genetic samples of these species? We have to reach a point where we can both clone things and isolate and revise the problematic areas of interbreeding in the next century or two, right?
 
K

KingGondo

Banned
Very sad, although it might be worth clarifying your thread title. This article is about the northern white rhino subspecies.
 
K

Kaako

Felium Defensor
An entire species and sadly not the only one that will go extinct within our lifetimes. This fact weighs greatly on my heavy heart.
 
shira

shira

Member
The Technomancer said:
We really need cloning, like yesterday.

Serious question, is anyone saving genetic samples of these species? We have to reach a point where we can both clone things and isolate and revise the problematic areas of interbreeding in the next century or two, right?
Click to expand...

oPvZE0O.jpg


but frog dna fills in the gaps
 
R

Roo

Member
Well, they better start getting the shit out of its DNA if they want to see them again once they're gone.
 
P

Popnbake

Member
I'm confused by the title given the last sentence:

Southerns have been previously believed to be extinct, but a small group (under 100) was found in 1895. Wild-born southerns breed extremely well in captivity, and there are now over 17,000 southern white rhinos under protection in Africa.
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entrement said:
What's driving demand for Rhino?
Click to expand...

Their horns which are valued for traditional medicine.

There was a VICE? documentary about it.
 
S

Somnid

Member
I hear the nutsack of a rhino poacher if crushed into a powder and taken orally will make you irresistible to women.
 
Z

zerosum

Member
Son of a...

You know, we are the first species that has the means and capability to actually try to save and preserve plants and animals from whatever natural extinction may occur.

But nope, fuck it, let's just kill them all ourselves.
 
J

JumpJeff84

Member
I went to a hip hop show in Central Park about 7 years ago that was produced by Mark Ecko, and it was a fundraiser to save the White Rhinos.

I thought we'd saved them, guess not.
 
D

Dai101

Banned
zerosum said:
Son of a...

You know, we are the first species that has the means and capability to actually try to save and preserve plants and animals from whatever natural extinction may occur.

But nope, fuck it, let's just kill them all ourselves.
Click to expand...

It's what god wanted. I mean, didn't he give us this place to fuck around however we want to? We're only doing what he said to us (ok, to one of us really)
 
RoadHazard

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Rather misleading thread title, as the article says there are over 17,000 southern white rhinos left. It's the northern population (subspecies) that's nearly gone. Still sad, of course.
 
G

gutter_trash

Banned
those fuckin' cunts who kill them just for their horn are the scum of the Earth.

fuck people who use horns as dagger holsters, fuck people who use their horns for fuckin decorations, fuck people who believe in superstitious crap

I am sad because we are witnessing the extinction of an animal species before us
 
S

spawnsniper

Member
Ayato Kanzaki said:
This is a prime example of what will eventually doom us all. That complete lack of caring for things that don't directly impact us personally.
Click to expand...

Maybe they don't impact us directly but somewhere down the food chain it impacted something else.. which in turn may impact us later many years into the future.
 
A

ArjanN

Member
Dai101 said:
It's what god wanted. I mean, didn't he give us this place to fuck around however we want to? We're only doing what he said to us (ok, to one of us really)
Click to expand...

Well, if you believe what the bible says God killed all but 2 of them at one point, so we're still up 4.
 
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