Last: The Story of a White Rhino

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White rhinos have complex social structures. Groups of sometimes 14 rhinos may form, notably females with calves. Adult males defend territories of roughly one square mile, which they mark with vigorously scraped dung piles. The home range for adult females can be more than seven times larger, depending on habitat quality and population density. Breeding females are prevented from leaving a dominant male’s territory, which is marked and patrolled by its owner on a regular basis. Males competing for a female may engage in serious conflict, using their horns and massive size to inflict wounds. Boehrer, Katherine. "Only Six Northern White Rhinos Left In The World After Death At Wildlife Sanctuary". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014 . Retrieved 7 December 2014.

Unless science progresses further with stem cell research, this is the only hope we have," says Mutisya. Though Suni is dead and Fatu cannot conceive, science has christened this couple the future of the northern white rhino.

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I think of Norway’s Svalbard Global Seed Vault, or as some call it – the Doomsday Vault. I imagine the analogous sperm and oocyte bank of endangered species, a frozen Noah’s Ark, where embryos from Fatu and Suni join embryos from vaquitas, cheetahs and Right Whales. A so-called Bio Bank. It is an achievement because most of the rhinos in the world don't live this long, but she has more than five years to live in great health," says Mutai, a father of five. Into this bleak cityscape, the only colour we see is that of the occasional humans and in particular one woman observing the animals, who is later to be seen after the release into the wild observing the rhino through her binoculars. She seems like a voice of hope embodying Davies’s explicit message ‘Do what needs to be done’. Northern White Rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum cottoni". Redorbit. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015 . Retrieved 7 December 2014.

I would add a note for sensitive and/or young readers. When his mother dies, it only says she lies so still in the text, but the illustration shows a hunter with a gun next to a red-ended horn, implying he poached her for her horn. This is a Bambi-style sadness that may be troubling for sensitive readers, but it is true and a real problem. Last should be on the shelves in every school, library and home. We need to do more to protect the extraordinary creatures that are part of our planet. In fact we we must do more, it is not a choice, it is a duty.This story is heart-wrenching but true, with the final note that explains that Sudan was the last male Northern White Rhino. After his death, only two females remain, but once they die, there will be no more of this species. This is a sad but important story. Anthony recounts his story of trying to coordinate a mission to DRC to save a handful of Northern White Rhinos left in the wild. The rhinos lived in an area of the Congo controlled by the infamous Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and were soon to be hunted into extinction. Sudan is the last of his kind: a white rhino. Brutally taken from his mother, who was shot for her horn by poachers, he is shipped to a zoo devoid of any colour, smell, natural sound or life. With other animals who are also the last of their kind, Sudan seems destined to spend the rest of his life walking in the smallest, grey circle surrounded by walls of skyscrapers and endless, faceless traffic. Khomami, Nadia. "Death of white rhino in Kenya leaves only six animals alive in the world". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014 . Retrieved 7 December 2014. A picture taken at the ol-Pejeta conservancy in Nanyuki, north of capital Nairobi, on March 20, 2018 shows head stones that mark the graves where remains of rhinos that were killed or died of other causes are buried. TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty