Only 6 northern white rhinos left worldwide, species on verge of extinction

The death of a Northern White Rhino has left the species on the brink of extinction as now only six remain in the world, and just one breeding male. The 34-year-old rhino, called Suni, was one of four Northern Whites residing on Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a not-for-profit organisation situated in Kenya’s Laikipia County. He was born in captivity at Dvůr Králové Zoo in Czech Republic and transported to the conservancy in 2009, along with one other male and two females in a bid to try and rescue the species. A statement from the conservancy said: “Our rangers found him on the morning of October 17th, 2014, dead in his boma. Suni was not a victim of poaching and we have yet to establish the cause of his sudden death. The Kenya Wildlife Service vets will conduct a post mortem as soon as possible. “We will continue to do what we can to work with the remaining three animals on Ol Pejeta in the hope that our efforts will one day result in the successful birth of a northern white rhino calf.” The other three Northern White Rhinos are located in the Czech Republic and San Diego Zoo's Safari Park. The Northern White Rhino and the Southern White Rhino are the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros. The Northern’s former range covered several countries in East and Central Africa, including northwestern Uganda, southern Chad, southern South Sudan, the eastern part of Central African Republic, and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Source: Wildlife Extra