Sudan is the only living male Northern White Rhino left on Earth

HE’S the last living male White Rhino in the world, protected by four armed guards, with the fate of the entire species resting on his back but time is running out.

KENYA, Laikipia: In a photograph taken 22 May 2015 by the Kenyan Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism (MEAACT) and made available 25 May, Commerce and Tourism, ‘Sudan’, the world’s last remaining male northern white rhino is seen at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a 90,000-acre conservancy in central Kenya which has made great strides in protecting and increasing rhino populations in Kenya. US-born model and Bollywood actress Nagris Fakhri (not seen) was in the East African country to help raise awareness and support around conservation efforts to save rhinos from extinction. MEAACT PHOTO / STUART PRICE.

TODAY is World Rhino Day, a day aimed at raising awareness for the plight of the world’s most threatened species. But nothing truly highlights the precarious state of this species more than Sudan, the loneliest rhinoceros on Earth.

At 42-years-old, Sudan is the only living male Northern White Rhino left in the entire world. With an average life expectancy of 40, Sudan’s clock is ticking, and the Ol Pejeta conservancy in Kenya is doing everything in their power to save the Northern White Rhino. Sudan was moved to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a 90,000-acre conservancy in Central Kenya in 2009 in an attempt to save the species. At 42 years old, Sudan is no spring chicken, but has the fate of an entire species on his shoulders. He occupies at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy with two female Northern White Rhinos, Fatu, 15 and Najin, 25. For his own protection, Sudan has had his horn removed to lessen the threat of poaching, and will live out the rest of his days under the 24-hour surveillance of four armed guards. Well-funded, deadly and equipped with the newest tech such as drones, it is no easy task to prevent determined poachers. Sudan is now seen as the everlasting image of the illegal wildlife trade that is now one of the largest international organised crimes in the world. Ol Pejeta conservancy is undertaking a Northern White Rhino breeding project as part of a global effort, The breeding project is now working on an In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) via a surrogate of a Southern White Rhino. The only way now to ensure the survival of the Northern White Rhino subspecies is to raise funds to support these assisted reproduction methods. While this does not come without risks (and significant costs) — all other options have been exhausted and time is running out. Visitors to Ol Pejeta Conservancy have the opportunity to support Sudan, Najin and Fatu, as well as the endangered black rhinos and southern white rhinos.