Imminent Extinction

The Fate of the Northern White Rhinoceros

Earth is less than a pinpoint in our universe—a minute speck of dust. Even in our own galaxy, virtually all significant astronomical objects are larger than Earth.

For us, our beautiful Earth feels vast, with a total surface area of 126.016 billion acres. Our planet is filled with life. Everywhere you look, there is life: people, trees, grass, birds, squirrels, and fish. It’s estimated that there are 8.7 million animal species on land and another 2.2 million in our oceans. That’s just how many species exist, not how many individual animals there are. Estimating the total number of individual animals on Earth is incredibly challenging, but rough estimates suggest there could be around 20 billion to 30 billion mammals, trillions of fish, and countless invertebrates. Some estimates place the total number of individual animals in the quintillions.

Just for reference, one quintillion is written as 1,000,000,000,000,000,000. To visualize it, consider this:

• If you had 1 quintillion one-dollar bills and stacked them, the stack would reach about 68,000 miles high—far beyond the distance to the moon!
• If you had 1 quintillion grains of sand, it would be enough to fill several Olympic-sized swimming pools.

It's an unfathomably large number, making it hard to truly grasp!

As of 2023, the global human population is estimated to be around 8 billion (8,000,000,000). This number is constantly changing due to births and deaths.

Overall, a very rough estimate of living beings on Earth exceeds 10 quintillion individual organisms when considering humans, animals, and insects, without counting the quintillions of plants, fungi, microorganisms, protists, and more.

In all, our planet holds quadrillions upon quadrillions of living, breathing life forms.

Yet, in a remote corner of our planet—Laikipia County, Kenya, at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy—live just two northern white rhinoceroses: mother and daughter, Najin and Fatu. They are the last two remaining northern white rhinoceroses in the entire world. There are no northern white rhinos in zoos or private collections. Mother and daughter are the very last of their kind.

Photo of Najin and Fatu 
Photo courtesy of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy

In the 19th century, the northern white rhino population is estimated to have been in the thousands. As herbivores, they grazed on grasses across parts of East and Central Africa. Their diet consisted mainly of various types of grasses found in savannah and grassland habitats, where they foraged for food. Roaming freely through South Sudan, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kenya, their grazing habits played a crucial role in maintaining the ecosystem by helping to manage plant growth.

By the 1960s, it is estimated that the number of northern white rhinos in the wild had dwindled to around 2,000. This number reflects a population that was still relatively stable at that time.

So, how did their numbers go from 2,000 in 1960 to just two by 2024? In the span of sixty years, an entire species was brought to the brink of extinction. What could have caused such destruction?

The answer is simple: it was us. Humans.

The near extinction of the northern white rhino was primarily caused by poaching and habitat loss. Poachers targeted these rhinos for their horns, which are highly valued in the illegal wildlife trade, often mistakenly believed to have medicinal properties. Additionally, the destruction of their natural habitat due to agriculture, human settlement, development, and civil war further reduced their populations.

At the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the last remaining northern white rhino male, Sudan, passed away in 2018.

Leaving just two...

NAJIN & FATU

Najin & Fatu
Photo Courtesy of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Najin and Fatu are under 24/7 care at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. They live within a secured 700-acre enclosure and are protected around the clock by armed security—a sadly necessary measure to protect them from poachers.

Najin was born in 1989 and is now 35 years old. Her daughter, Fatu, was born in 2000 and is 24 years old.

In the wild, they have a life expectancy of 40 to 50 years, which can increase in captivity.

HOPE

Is there any hope for the northern white rhino?

Thankfully, due to the great efforts and foresight of those caring for the rhinoceros, there is a glimmer of hope for saving them. Thanks to the German consortium BioRescue, a collaborative initiative focused on saving the northern white rhino from extinction, a plan is in place. Formed by a group of researchers, conservationists, and organizations, the consortium aims to use advanced reproductive technologies to support the breeding and preservation of the subspecies. Their efforts include techniques like in vitro fertilization (IVF), stem cell research, and genetic analysis to create embryos using eggs from the last surviving female northern white rhinos and sperm collected from males prior to their deaths. The goal is to eventually produce viable offspring and re-establish a population of northern white rhinos in the wild. This project highlights the intersection of conservation science and cutting-edge technology in addressing the challenges of endangered species.

Due to health issues, neither Najin nor Fatu are viable candidates for in vitro fertilization. The plan is to use a surrogate southern white rhino to carry and deliver the northern white rhino calf.

Embryos have successfully been produced and while they can be stored for a long time in liquid nitrogen, the hope is to begin this process within the next few months. A rhino pregnancy lasts 16 months, and the aim is to have a new northern white rhino calf in the next two or three years. As both Najin and Fatu are growing old, the plan is to move the calf to live with them as soon as possible so it can learn their social behaviors before they pass.

Najin & Fatu
Photo courtesy of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy

So… there is hope.

The costs are quite expensive.

I’m just a blogger; I don’t benefit in any way from funds sent to help in the conservation of these beautiful animals. My only benefit is knowing my story may help them in some way. With that in mind, I’m including a list of sites where you can contribute to the continuing care and possible future of the northern white rhino.

Thank you.

• Ol Pejeta Conservancy: www.olpejetaconservancy.org
• Save the Rhino International: www.savetherhino.org
• Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS): 
• www.wcs.org
• BioRescue Consortium: 
• www.biorescue.org 
  

Todd feeding a rhinoceros we
met at the San Diego Zoo
while on our honeymoon

Me getting a sweet smile from this
beautiful rhino while I give
him a pat.

Special thanks to Juliet Guantai of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy for providing beautiful photos of Najin and Fatu. Your support and dedication is invaluable in raising awareness about these magnificent animals.