Sudan, the last known white rhino, RIP

almost 2 years ago

Sudan with a human minder
Image: Ol Pejeta Conservancy

In its 20 March 2018 Tweet the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, East Africa's prime rhino conservancy, reported the the last male of the white rhinoceros species had died aged 45. For years, he was housed with females in hopes they would breed but that sadly never materialized.

Barring a success of artificial or in vitro fertilization or other innovative artificial reproduction efforts, the species is likely doomed. And they were not hunted out of existence for their meat, they were not hunted out of existence to provide for human survival - merely for their horns which in some African and Middle Eastern cultures are believed to possess magical powers, including aphrodisiac powers for men. There is no evidence any such powers are real - but traditional cultural beliefs often trumped scientific understanding. And that caused the destruction of a species.

Such is a tragic price of prejudice.

References

[The Last Male Northern White Rhino On Earth Passed Away](The Last Male Northern White Rhino On Earth Passed Away)
Paws Daily, 6 April 2022

The Hard Truth about the Rhino Horn “Aphrodisiac” Market
Jeremy Hsu, Scientific American, April 2017

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