Scientists now have a last-minute chance to bring the northern white rhinos back from the void, thanks to stem cell breakthroughs – but only if they can manage to work through the constraints of the pandemic. After civil war, habitat loss, and aggressive poaching, scientists declared the species extinct in the wild in 2008. Were things left only to nature, the two remaining rhinos – elderly, calm Najin and her feisty 20-year-old daughter Fatu – would be the last of their kind to graze the African grasslands. The window to keep the northern white rhino from going functionally extinct to fully extinct is closing fast. Working with them and watching what’s happening – it’s an emotional freefall.” He smiles, clearly resigned to the pain of bearing witness. “I’ve watched their numbers fall from seven to two. The anti-poaching K-9 dogs bark in the background. He’s out in the Kenyan bush, swatting flies. It does not store any personal data.“I watch these beautiful animals walk the path toward extinction every day,” keeper James Mwenda tells me. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Intensive monitoring and protection of white rhinos from poaching is critical to their survival while animals may be translocated between areas to manage and safeguard their populations. Increasing interest from criminal syndicates involved in the illegal trade in rhino horn poses a significant threat. These are used in traditional medicine and ornaments, primarily in South East Asia. However, the species remains at risk from illegal hunting (poaching) for their horns. Recent estimates suggest that there may now be around 18,000 individual white rhinos. Populations have also been established in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. However, protection and translocation (capturing and transporting) of animals led to their recovery in South Africa and being reintroduced to Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. The Southern white rhino was almost hunted to extinction by the end of the 19 th Century with only one small population of approximately 20 – 50 animals remaining in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Only two individuals of this sub-species remain, both female, now living at the Ol Pejeta Conservancyin Kenya. The Northern white rhino is thought to be extinct across its entire former range.
Calves remain with their mothers for around 3 years, eventually separating when a new calf is born.
Calves normally move in front of their mothers, begin grazing after a few weeks and weaning occurs around 1 year of age. Following a 16-month gestation period, calves are born and able to stand within an hour, immediately trying to suckle. Male white rhinos may be 10 years old before they are ready to breed, whereas females mature around 6 or 7 years old and then may have a calf every 3 years.
White rhinos use a surprisingly wide range of vocal communication including contact calls, grunts and snorts, plus higher pitched squeals when distressed, and deep bellows signifying aggression or when threatened. The odour reveals information about age, sex, the territorial status of males and whether females are receptive to breeding. This affords protection but while young rhino calves may be vulnerable to lions Panthera leo and spotted hyaenas Crocuta Crocuta, older animals are generally untroubled by predators.īoth male and female white rhinos advertise their presence using communal dung heaps known as middens.
Females and their offspring may congregate in herds of up to a dozen or so animals. Dominant male white rhinos are solitary and territorial but may tolerate the presence of subordinate males.