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RIP Nabire. She died at 31 years old from a medical complication, leaving only 4 of her kind alive on the planet.

The last male lives under 24/7 armed guard and his horn was cut off for his own protection from poachers.

Two females live at the same conservatory and the other is at the San Diego zoo.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/29/world/northern-rhino-dies/index.html

The northern white rhino has been hunted to the brink of extinction for its horn, fueled by the belief in Asia that it cures various illnesses. The highly prized horn is made of keratin -- the same material that makes up human hair and fingernails.

The only living male, 42-year-old Sudan, lives in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, under 24-hour armed guard. His horn has been cut off to deter poachers.

With 1 male left worldwide, northern white rhinos under guard 24 hours
Northern white rhinos guarded as 1 male left worldwide
The fate of the subspecies rests on his armored shoulders, and on the two female northern white rhinos at the conservancy, Fatu and Najin, who also once lived at the Czech Republic Zoo.

"Sudan is currently old and may not be able to naturally mount and mate with a female," said George Paul, a deputy veterinarian at the conservancy.

In addition, he has a low sperm count, experts say.

Najin could conceive, but her hind legs are so weak, she may be unable to support a mounted male.

"There has been recorded mating between different pairs over the last few years, but not conceptions," said Paul.

The fourth remaining member of this dwindling subspecies, Nola, lives at the San Diego Zoo.

 

[Fou-Lu]

So they are functionally extinct then? That's fucking sad.

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

Congrats humans, we're fucking assholes.

 

[kswiston]

So they are functionally extinct then? That's fucking sad.

Yup. At least it's only a sub-species and not the entire species. There are a decent number of Southern white rhinos left.

EDIT: Actually, doing a little reading, the northern whites might be a genetically separate species

 

[Marky Mark]

Nobody tell that dentist.

 

[kronose]

Stories like this just make me sad... To see what horrible people (poachers) can do for the sake of money.. Killing off a species. I'm not usually the one to harp on mankind, but killing off ecosystems and species for a buck... just infuriates and makes me grieve.

 

[jetpacks was yes]

So superstitious Chinese medicine is to blame? Really?

That is really depressing.

 

[Lovely Salsa]

So whats stopping them from using the male rhino sperm to impregninate the other females?

 

[Bodacious]

So they are functionally extinct then? That's fucking sad.

It is sad, but I think we've had this thread before and the northern white rhino is just a subspecies. The southern white rhino is not threatened and is the most abundantly populated rhino of all. It's like the eastern mountain lion is extinct, but there are still mountain lions in the western states. I know some people will want to jump all over what I just said, but I agree with you that with only 1 male and 3 females remaining, it's functionally extinct.

 

[Stencil]

That's pretty cool the last male lives under armed guard. Almost makes up for what we did to the species to begin with.

 

[triplestation]

Science do your thing already these animals need ur help

 

[DOG3NZAKA]

Poor fella

 

[Killer Queen]

So whats stopping them from using the male rhino sperm to impregninate the other females?

The low sperm count is probably making that difficult.

 

[BigDug13]

That's pretty cool the last male lives under armed guard. Almost makes up for what we did to the species to begin with.

Not sure how any of this almost makes up. We have to dedicate several humans to make sure humanity doesn't kill the last one? That's just sad.

 

[GameAddict411]

So whats stopping them from using the male rhino sperm to impregninate the other females?

my thoughts exactly.

 

[kswiston]

So whats stopping them from using the male rhino sperm to impregninate the other females?

They can do that, but it takes a rhino a year and a half to give birth to a single calf, and they can only have 10 or so in their lifetime. Recovery would take forever, even if we ignore the severe genetic bottleneck

 

[injurai]

That's pretty cool the last male lives under armed guard. Almost makes up for what we did to the species to begin with.

It's not really living a life. If anything it's a gesture that we make for ourselves, and it feels anything but cool to me.

 

[GameAddict411]

They can do that, but it takes a rhino a year and a half to give birth to a single calf, and they can only have 10 or so in their lifetime. Recovery would take forever, even if we ignore the severe genetic bottleneck

cloning could work as an extreme solution.

edit: they could use another species of rhino if that's possible.

 

[Alebrije]

This some Mad Max feeling....

 

[kswiston]

cloning could work as an extreme solution.

I'm sure they could also use southern white rhinos as surrogates for test tube fertilizations, but who is going to pay for all of that?

 

[entremet]

I guess that's it.

RIP White Rhinos.

Absolutely tragic due to the Eastern medicine nonsense.

 

[kswiston]

I guess that's it.

RIP White Rhinos.

Northern white rhinos. there are 20k of the other kind still.

 

[yami4ct]

I'm sure they could also use southern white rhinos as surrogates for test tube fertilizations, but who is going to pay for all of that?

The chances of that happening to repopulate in the wild are almost zero. For in captivity animals, I can very well see it happen.

We are definitely going to see some companies "resurrect" an extinct species as a proof of concept and further development of biotech. That's a when, not if. What that species is and how that information is used after is something I can't say.

 

[xkramz]

lots of awesome extinct animals =/ id love to see a living breathing saber tooth tiger

 

[JetForceGemini]

wouldnt stories like this prove that Noah's ark was false? if a species cant survive off 4, what makes you think it can off 2

 

[mr jones]

This some Mad Max feeling....

Aw man. That pic just screams "Welp. Guess that's that."

 

[kswiston]

The Javan and Sumatran Rhinos are probably next. Both have populations in the double digits now I believe.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

Hunted to extinction over the equivalent of our freakin' finger nails over Eastern superstition, cripes people are stupid.

The pics, that's Rhino looks so sad.

 

[Dalek]

This is insanely sad.

 

[RS4-]

I'm sure they could also use southern white rhinos as surrogates for test tube fertilizations, but who is going to pay for all of that?

Scumfuck poachers, hunters, and useless people that believe in these bullshit magical potions.

 

[Dalek]

I'd like to take these people that believe in this superstitious crap and shake the shit out of them.

 

[Sesuadra]

I'm sure they could also use southern white rhinos as surrogates for test tube fertilizations, but who is going to pay for all of that?

Kickstarter for repopulation?

 

[Abstruse Moose]

I was looking up statistics on the tiger population expecting more bad news, but it turns out the number of tigers in India has grown by 30% in 4 years. It's too late to save the White Rhino, but maybe we're finally on a path to curb unnecessary extinction.

 

[kswiston]

wouldnt stories like this prove that Noah's ark was false? if a species cant survive off 4, what makes you think it can off 2

The Noah's Ark Story has bigger issues than the fact that a species can't repopulate from two individuals. The ark was smaller than a cruise ship.

 

[Frog-fu]

This is so sad and infuriating.

 

[Jack Scofield]

Thanks, China.

 

[Jinaar]

I don' t need this before bed.

 

[Soyongdori]

Someone contact the Koreans to get ready to clone those rhinos.

 

[entremet]

The Internet's favorite big game hunter liked Rhinos too.

These aren't the endangered ones, but it still sucks.

 

[MulderYuffie]

So sad I hope they end up being able to use the male to repopulate sucks about the low sperm count though making those chances slim.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

This pic is sooo god damn sad.

 

[Ayumi]

Omg, the look on his face..

"Save meeeee...."

 

[Alebrije]

 

[Crud]

Fucking losers.

 

[Pyrrhus]

Omg, the look on his face..

"Save meeeee...."

Looks more like it's saying "Shadows and dust" to me.

 

[Polioliolio]

How did it even get to this point?

Just proves there's not nearly enough government legislature and involvement in preserving environment/species.

So sad

 

[entremet]

How did it even get to this point?

Just proves there's not nearly enough government legislature and involvement in preserving environment/species.

So sad

These aren't first world countries. They don't have the resources.

 

[diggmcbadass]

Wonder what they taste like

 

[Kaako]

Tragic as fuck. Piece of shit poachers boil my blood.

 

[Kieli]

With such a small genetic pool to draw from, even if artificial insemination works... won't it lead to all sorts of problems for the progeny?

The white rhino is functionally extinct.