![]() ![]() “revention is better than cure,” according to Save the Rhino. This vision of extinction has spurred debate in conservation circles, with some arguing that saving the northern white rhino is a poor use of resources. Still, the last male’s death is likely not far in the future, given his advanced age. Over the next week, however, Sudan began to stand, graze and even wallow in the mud. ![]() 28 that a leg infection was threatening the elderly rhino’s life and that Sudan was responding poorly to treatment. Caregivers at Ol Pejeta Conservancy reported on Feb. Sudan is cared for around-the-clock by a team of veterinarians and protected from poachers by armed guards. The question becomes-is saving the northern white rhino worth it? Rhinoceros reproduction The resulting pregnancy could then be implanted into a southern white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum simum), a closely related subspecies. Najin and Fatu, both of whom still produce eggs, are the more valuable rhinos for the future, as their donor eggs could be used in in vitro fertilization with stored sperm from a deceased male. Regarding saving the subspecies, Sudan is already functionally obsolete, said Jan Stejskal, director of communications and international projects at Dvr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic, which technically owns the three rhinos. Najin is too old to bear the weight of a mating male or to carry a pregnancy, while Fatu has uterine problems. Sudan is too old, and his sperm quality is dismal, keepers discovered when they last collected his semen in 2014. None of the rhinos will ever reproduce again naturally. They all live under armed guard at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The other two, Najin and Fatu, are his daughter and granddaughter, respectively. There are only three northern white rhinos ( Ceratotherium simum cottoni) left in the world. But although 45-year-old Sudan is still standing-for now-conservationists are debating whether his subspecies has a chance at survival. The last male northern white rhinoceros is wallowing in the mud and grazing again after an age-related infection nearly spelled his end earlier this month. ![]()
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