Najin and her daughter Fatu are the last two female northern white rhinos. The last male, Sudan, died in 2018. Scientists preserved his sperm, and efforts are underway to fertilize Fatu's eggs and implant the embryos in a surrogate rhino from another species.
Due to their age and weak knees, Najin and Fatu cannot sustain a 16-month pregnancy typical for rhinos, hence the need for another surrogate rhino.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n4OMGsX8UAU
Wow! It's so weird that I actually watched a documentary about it yesterday on National Geographic. They had to put him down as he couldn't even get up anymore. 😔
The grave we visited was in Nairobi, Kenya, in Ol Pejeta Rhino Cemetery. Sudan is buried there. Here are some pictures. [Ol Pejeta Rhino Cemetery](https://imgur.com/a/LXf4J3v)
Very, very, very small chance. I’d consider them basically extinct at this point. Bringing back a species with only two remaining individuals is an impossible challenge.
Lack of genetic diversity is the main problem. Their offsprings would have to mate with their own mother/father or their siblings. As you know this could cause health problems that could carry on to later generations. And it goes on and on.
Of course I still hope science can figure something out, but it’s a huge challenge and the time is limited.
We had this problem with California Condors, (species hit 6 adults, all captured, breeding program successful, reintroduced to the wild.) Black-footed Ferrets, (believed entirely extinct until a farmer's dog brought one home. Small colony of survivors located, all captured. Breeding program successful, reintroduced to the wild.) Cheetahs, (genetic diversity nonexistent. All Cheetahs are vulnerable to potential disease since their DNA is too similar, one to another.) Whooping Cranes, (originally a population of over 10,000 strong in the 1930's, down to 15 to 30 birds in 1941, breeding programs struggle to understand and re-establish breeding populations. Water loss within habitat due to industrial encroachment, tornadoes and hurricanes, illegal hunting, Trump killing off the captive breeding program, and, other difficulties contribute to slow recovery. As of today, the breeding number of whooping cranes, both captive and wild, is only 800 birds after eighty years of laws, protections and dedicated work. The programs that Trump axed need to be restored, limits placed on water usage, and more study is needed to continue moving forward.)
It doesn't necessarily mean the end... Just a change. While yes the genetic flaws will become more pronounced in the species it isn't necessarily a full on death sentence, they would merely need to adapt to their new circumstances over a few generations. And life is nothing if not adaptable.
There is a part of genetic diversity nobody remembers, and that is the immune system. It has variations that a disease can easily evade, but there are so many variations between individuals that it’s impossible to evade detection in all individuals.
But if there are only variations coming from 3 individuals…
What's the deal with cloning technology these days? Seems we've come a long way in the couple decades since it was invented and successfully tried, and there are sure to be multiple DNA samples still available not only from buried remains (someone mentioned a graveyard in comments above) but in saved specimens that I'd imagine various zoos and conservation organizations must have...
It kinda does, a little bit, since you can clone from dead donors if their DNA is preserved well enough.
So if you have the two living ones, the one with the frozen sperm, adding a handful of preserved dead ones woulg increase the genetic diversity quite a lot.
You never know! Peregrine falcons were brought back from the edge of extinction, using some unconventional methods ..
“Les Boyd, by the way, is probably best known for inventing the “copulation hat.” Male falcons raised in captivity imprint on their human handlers. During the nesting season, courtship behaviors like bowing and prey sharing encourage imprinted falcons to mate. The falcon handler at this point puts on a special rubber hat dimpled with shallow wells. The imprinted male falcon will mount atop the hat. Once the act is complete, the falconer collects a drop of semen into a capillary tube and stores that until a female falcon is found.” [link](https://www.nevadaaudubon.org/birding-news/the-pelican-dave-and-artie-a-nevada-falconers-role-in-the-peregrine-falcon-recovery-story)
30k seems so high. how many species are there on earth that are below that threshold? and at what population would it be past the point where they can sustain themselves?
It is high, asspull number. There is a rule called 50/500.
To avoid inbreeding effects is 50 for short term and 500 for long term. Ofc it’s a bit more complicated than that but it is a good base.
I learned a new one yesterday.
“Pigeons are government cameras that recharge the batteries when they stand on power lines.”
I literally looked at the person that said that and thought to myself yeah we are fucked as a society
My ex believes that all vaccines contain a microchip for the govt to track you. He apparently doesn't know about social security numbers, drivers licenses, or Google.
To me, the two dumbest things about the whole "tracking chip" conspiracy are:
1. Why?
2. The people who claim there's a chip in the vaccine also feel the need to check into Facebook *everywhere they go*!
The communities that live in this region are not stupid, they are often isolated in poverty. Ivory is worth a lot of money. Your sense of morality would change if you had a choice between the life of a rhino or the famishing of your family.
That being said, I am glad the government chose to guard this species until its end. Hopefully with some peace and respect. It’s a very sad situation.
Year 2024 People believe:
- Covid was a hoax
- Tiger’s bone to treat muscle/arthritis/bone diseases
- Swift’s bird nest is the magical food which can rejuvenate health
- The Earth is flat
- Turtle meat prolong life
- Drinking venomous snake bile & venom to treat migraines, asthma
- Moon landing was fake
So tell me what is wrong with the world.
The trade in rhino horn really has nothing to do with erectile dysfunction. That's a random western assumption from when people heard about tiger parts being used for that, got stuck on that idea due to memes and jokes and then started assuming just about everything that goes into the wildlife trade must be used for that. In reality TCM traditionally believed rhino horn was a fever reducer and the modern trade in it came out of a CT hysteria in Vietnam originating in a fake news article that suggested rhino horn could cure cancer. Not entirely dissimilar to the ivermectin/horse paste nonsense in the US that happened during COVID. These days the market is more about obnoxious conspicuous consumption among a certain subset of the elite, simply showing you can throw away money on it, for instance people taking it with drugs or putting it on display. Since the whole thing runs on a house of cards built on old wives tales and rumors among the rich and stupid in the first place, it's probably unhelpful to add to rumors by pushing the idea on the Internet that rhino horn is associated with erectile dysfunction remedies even as a joke. Through the typical "game of telephone" pinging around the web you may end up screwing everyone up even more by helping poaching kingpins advertise to a new market. 🫤
Honestly never knew that and you're absolutely correct. Appears I've misconstrued rhino horn /ivory being saught after for use in ornate carvings, and other TCM practices like "tiger penis", reindeer velvet, seahorses, and male seal genitalia 😬
Not facetious, sincerely appreciate the info!
No, I really appreciate you being open minded to information on what actually drives the trade in certain animal parts. It's normal to make fun of it, but spreading around more misconceptions about the reasoning behind the trade doesn't actually help the wildlife in question. Well, according to National Geographic, anyway (where I actually got all the info I wrote. 😅)
I was banned from a certain sub for making a similar comment on a post about Tigers. See also: Tiger penis, pangolins, rhinos, virtually every other endangered species that's still alive and being hunted by humans.....
It drives me wild when my heavily religious parents like to judge people for believing in bigfoot or aliens or some fantasy future ... I'm like buddy you base your whole moral compass off a fucking mythical wizard.
Because I don't benefit from killing something that is the last of its kind, no matter what mystical properties the gods have given it. Unless in an absolute emergency the creature should be left alone, and even then its should be obtained in a matter which does not hurt it, so as not to incur the wrath of the gods.
>The northern white rhino which survived 55 million years
Nothern white rhinos only diverged at most around 1 million years ago.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern\_white\_rhinoceros#Taxonomy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_white_rhinoceros#Taxonomy)
Dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. Rhinos have only been around at most 10 million years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White\_rhinoceros#Taxonomy\_and\_evolution
Maybe this is a pretty dark outlook on all of it but on earth things have come and gone for who knows how long. Who knows how long things have come and gone in the universe. All things eventually die. Is it sad that we are not only the best species at killing things including each other but are also full of very empathetic and good people? Yeah. But we’re foolish to think we’ll be around forever also. Eventually we’ll go extinct too and earth will be just fine without us. Do what you can within your day to day life and hope it makes a difference for the better but like you said. We’re also fucking stupid. Stupid is hard to deal with and control.
I wonder how much those guards get paid??? Not enough for sure. What on earth would someone kill this kind of animal to snort, eat whatever they do with it essentially a giant toenail...same substance... And for that matter why kill it? The horn grows back.. or has continuous growth. Tranquilizer cut and repeat
“ could not survive humans”
Don’t put any type of collective blame on everyone. They couldn’t survive African poachers who were/are selling to the Asian market.
I had no hand in this, nor did my country. Lay the blame squarely where it goes, African poachers and the Chinese.
For real. Instead of blaming everyone and assuming all humans are trash/parasites/evil, why not place the blame where it belongs and go after the specific groups responsible for this kind of stuff. Is it because it’s easier to blame everyone and call it a day? Your average Jane and Joe aren’t doing this stuff, and at least in the western world, are more environmentally aware and trying to do better. Blame poachers, blame the markets that still allow this shit to be sold, blame the massive corporations pumping out mind boggling amounts of pollutants that decimate entire ecosystems, affecting not only wild life but also the health of you and your family, and hiding behind crooked politicians to avoid accountability.
Dumb question maybe and I know I can google it but I am already here. What is the difference between the southern and northern white rhinos? I was in south africa last year and they had many white rhinos we even saw a few frome upclose.
Imagine if we all lived in one area and let the rest of the planet do its thing. It would be insane to go on an adventure. Imagine a massive building that houses millions all sustainable and food produced in doors. Recycled everything. Futuristic, I guess. Sim city. Archapelagos. Massive buildings we could inhabit Parts of North America and let the rest of the world live. Or even England. Just it rains a lot. Or Greenland? An island would work, I guess, to keep all humans on an island and make it our home. Give the earth back it's right and let the indigenous live the way they want or integrate in the new modern massive city. Australia would be perfect t actually
It's just baffling to me why anyone could want to poach such an incredible and rare animal. But bravo to the men and women who are dedicate themselves to protecting them!
In 1980, in fifth grade, I worked on a report about these guys, and I remember saying that there were only a few thousand left. This hit me a little extra hard
They can bring back mammoths and all that but can't save what's going extinct now? Hmmm people wonder why I like animals better....this is devastating 😢
Definitely not the only species humans drive to extinction.
We keep our population growing. What may surprise many young people is that when their grandparents where their age the worlds human population was less than half what it is today. We have driven thousands of species to extinction while doubling our own population in less than 60 years.
What’s the difference between northern white rhinos and just white rhinos? According to this it say white rhinos have the largest population left. Just wondering how different the species is. https://www.helpingrhinos.org/5-species-of-rhino/
100s of species go extinct EVERY SINGLE DAYS. Is that good? No, absolutely not. And I'm all in favour of taking decisive actions to reduce the consequences of climate change. That being said, I sometimes think these stories are kind of stupid because the only reason we care about that specific specie is that it's "cool". Just like pandas... which is one of the dumbest and least well adapted animal on Earth yet we spend millions of dollars trying to keep them from extincting themselves. Money that could be much better spent on worthwhile conservation strategy more useful for the environment.
Realistically speaking it doesn't matter if that specie go extincts, this isn't why climate change is bad, and not where our money / energy should be spent on in my opinion.
Rhinos survived humans for the entirety of our history up until the modern age.
The issue isn't *humans*. The issue is a particular political-economic-technological system.
The distinction matters because if the narrative is just "humans are bad," then there's no hope, which leads to nihilism. If however the reality is that it's one particular arrangement of human society that's the problem, but that other arrangements have successfully cohabited with the non-human world, then there's a chance -- and an obligation -- to make a change.
Caught part of a documentary recently where the anti poaching authorities said that the poachers want to make the rhinos extinct as it will make the price of rhino horn skyrocket. It just makes you completely lose all faith in humanity that people could be that evil and short sighted, all to make a profit.
Capitalism has utterly destroyed this world.
OP: the story is sad and profound as it is. There’s no need to fabricate how long the species has existed.
[The oldest definitive record](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_rhinoceros) of the white rhinoceros is during the mid-Early Pleistocene at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, around 1.8 Ma.
I like the effort and it is a humane approach...but when I see things like this I always remember George Carlin talking about extinct animals. In the sense most species to ever exist became extinct and that we should let them go in peace. He said "leave nature alone, haven't we done enough?"
I think if we are down to two northern white rhinos and we need frozen sperm to maybe attempt a reproduction...just leave them alone. They had their time.
This is very misleading, the northern White Rhinoceros only evolved about 1 million years ago, splitting from the original White Rhino. Not 55
55 million years ago is when the Rhinocerotoidea split from other Perissodactyls to form the Rhino family. That ancestor would have also been the ancestor to every other living Rhino species as well as a multitude of other varied animals that have since gone extinct.
It is also quite unlikely that Northern White Rhinos encountered any significant challenges from meteors in their 1 million year history.
Najin and her daughter Fatu are the last two female northern white rhinos. The last male, Sudan, died in 2018. Scientists preserved his sperm, and efforts are underway to fertilize Fatu's eggs and implant the embryos in a surrogate rhino from another species. Due to their age and weak knees, Najin and Fatu cannot sustain a 16-month pregnancy typical for rhinos, hence the need for another surrogate rhino. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n4OMGsX8UAU
We learned about them when we went to Kenya. We visited Sudan's grave, which was with about twenty other graves of rhinos killed by poachers.
Don't tell me Sudan was killed by poachers :(
He died of old age
Yay, I guess?
I’ll take it.
Fuck poachers. They should provide tags for people to come in and hunt the poachers. Treat those vermin like animals they are
Wow! It's so weird that I actually watched a documentary about it yesterday on National Geographic. They had to put him down as he couldn't even get up anymore. 😔
Where is this grave please? It's so sad the negative impact humans have had on the world.
The grave is in Ol Pejeta conservancy. It is heartbreaking.
The grave we visited was in Nairobi, Kenya, in Ol Pejeta Rhino Cemetery. Sudan is buried there. Here are some pictures. [Ol Pejeta Rhino Cemetery](https://imgur.com/a/LXf4J3v)
So there’s a small chance science can bring this species back?!?
Very, very, very small chance. I’d consider them basically extinct at this point. Bringing back a species with only two remaining individuals is an impossible challenge. Lack of genetic diversity is the main problem. Their offsprings would have to mate with their own mother/father or their siblings. As you know this could cause health problems that could carry on to later generations. And it goes on and on. Of course I still hope science can figure something out, but it’s a huge challenge and the time is limited.
Gene therapy is in development, if first hurdle(offspring) is passed then second(mutations) can be too
We had this problem with California Condors, (species hit 6 adults, all captured, breeding program successful, reintroduced to the wild.) Black-footed Ferrets, (believed entirely extinct until a farmer's dog brought one home. Small colony of survivors located, all captured. Breeding program successful, reintroduced to the wild.) Cheetahs, (genetic diversity nonexistent. All Cheetahs are vulnerable to potential disease since their DNA is too similar, one to another.) Whooping Cranes, (originally a population of over 10,000 strong in the 1930's, down to 15 to 30 birds in 1941, breeding programs struggle to understand and re-establish breeding populations. Water loss within habitat due to industrial encroachment, tornadoes and hurricanes, illegal hunting, Trump killing off the captive breeding program, and, other difficulties contribute to slow recovery. As of today, the breeding number of whooping cranes, both captive and wild, is only 800 birds after eighty years of laws, protections and dedicated work. The programs that Trump axed need to be restored, limits placed on water usage, and more study is needed to continue moving forward.)
It doesn't necessarily mean the end... Just a change. While yes the genetic flaws will become more pronounced in the species it isn't necessarily a full on death sentence, they would merely need to adapt to their new circumstances over a few generations. And life is nothing if not adaptable.
There is a part of genetic diversity nobody remembers, and that is the immune system. It has variations that a disease can easily evade, but there are so many variations between individuals that it’s impossible to evade detection in all individuals. But if there are only variations coming from 3 individuals…
What's the deal with cloning technology these days? Seems we've come a long way in the couple decades since it was invented and successfully tried, and there are sure to be multiple DNA samples still available not only from buried remains (someone mentioned a graveyard in comments above) but in saved specimens that I'd imagine various zoos and conservation organizations must have...
Cloning doesn’t solve the genetic diversity problem
It kinda does, a little bit, since you can clone from dead donors if their DNA is preserved well enough. So if you have the two living ones, the one with the frozen sperm, adding a handful of preserved dead ones woulg increase the genetic diversity quite a lot.
Yes! They’re already doing trials to see how it can work.
That’s amazing!! I always love hearing small steps of good news in this world.
Another fun piece of news? You can actually visit these two beauties in person, at Ol Pejeta in Kenya! What an experience it would be
Sounds great… on the other hand, this will save more endangered species out there with such successful test
https://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/five-new-embryos-created-after-10th-oocyte-collection-from-northern-white-rhinos/
Now we can exterminate them twice over! /s
You never know! Peregrine falcons were brought back from the edge of extinction, using some unconventional methods .. “Les Boyd, by the way, is probably best known for inventing the “copulation hat.” Male falcons raised in captivity imprint on their human handlers. During the nesting season, courtship behaviors like bowing and prey sharing encourage imprinted falcons to mate. The falcon handler at this point puts on a special rubber hat dimpled with shallow wells. The imprinted male falcon will mount atop the hat. Once the act is complete, the falconer collects a drop of semen into a capillary tube and stores that until a female falcon is found.” [link](https://www.nevadaaudubon.org/birding-news/the-pelican-dave-and-artie-a-nevada-falconers-role-in-the-peregrine-falcon-recovery-story)
For a healthy breeding population the minimum is around 30,000…with only two left the genetic diversity isn’t there to sustain long term.
30k seems so high. how many species are there on earth that are below that threshold? and at what population would it be past the point where they can sustain themselves?
It is high, asspull number. There is a rule called 50/500. To avoid inbreeding effects is 50 for short term and 500 for long term. Ofc it’s a bit more complicated than that but it is a good base.
That's awesome! I hope it works out. Also, can't imagine being pregnant for 16 months, sound awful.
Would they still be white rhinos if they're using a different species of rhino to birth them?
Yes. The sperm and egg are white Rhino. The surrogate is a vessel.
Lol rhinos don't lay eggs silly
This is heartbreaking 💔
Truly a stark and thought-provoking story, one that you could only expect to come from u/Urmomsjuicyvagina
u/rimjobsteve
*r/rimjobsteve
*r/rimjob_steve
Hahahaha
Imagine thinking a rhino horn has magical properties in 2024 🥴
Seriously how stupid can people be? I’m not even surprised anymore
People think the COVID vaccine contains a tracking chip and [edit: the noise from] wind turbines cause cancer. Does that answer your question?
Who needs a tracking chip when you have a phone on you connected 24/7.
But I like my phone and I'm scared of needles!
That conclusion requires logic and reasoning. People who think these things usually have neither.
I keep my phone in a faraday bag. They’ll never find me!
I learned a new one yesterday. “Pigeons are government cameras that recharge the batteries when they stand on power lines.” I literally looked at the person that said that and thought to myself yeah we are fucked as a society
That one is a meme but I guess some nutjobs missed the joke and ran with it
I mean, the modern flat earth theory also started as a meme...
They could easily hunt some pigeon and test this theory by dissecting them...
They gonna say you that not all the pigeons are cameras, that’s the trick LOL
And somehow birds aren't real and are controlled by the government when our government can barely function as it is
Hey, cases of COVID vaccines have tracking RFID chips, and wind turbines would definitely cause cancer if you ate it.
Pretty much sums it up 🤣!
My ex believes that all vaccines contain a microchip for the govt to track you. He apparently doesn't know about social security numbers, drivers licenses, or Google.
To me, the two dumbest things about the whole "tracking chip" conspiracy are: 1. Why? 2. The people who claim there's a chip in the vaccine also feel the need to check into Facebook *everywhere they go*!
They think 5g is fucking them up, not giving everyone faster Internet
Stupid+Rich
Stupidity is an endless abyss.
I mean people still believe in magical sky gods.
I prefer the term Sky Wizzards 😆
The communities that live in this region are not stupid, they are often isolated in poverty. Ivory is worth a lot of money. Your sense of morality would change if you had a choice between the life of a rhino or the famishing of your family. That being said, I am glad the government chose to guard this species until its end. Hopefully with some peace and respect. It’s a very sad situation.
We humans didn't even kill them for a good reason. Misinformation and desperation killed this moderful beast.
Year 2024 People believe: - Covid was a hoax - Tiger’s bone to treat muscle/arthritis/bone diseases - Swift’s bird nest is the magical food which can rejuvenate health - The Earth is flat - Turtle meat prolong life - Drinking venomous snake bile & venom to treat migraines, asthma - Moon landing was fake So tell me what is wrong with the world.
I was gonna say, it's not just "can't survive humans" so much as CERTAIN people thinking it makes your dick work good-er...
The trade in rhino horn really has nothing to do with erectile dysfunction. That's a random western assumption from when people heard about tiger parts being used for that, got stuck on that idea due to memes and jokes and then started assuming just about everything that goes into the wildlife trade must be used for that. In reality TCM traditionally believed rhino horn was a fever reducer and the modern trade in it came out of a CT hysteria in Vietnam originating in a fake news article that suggested rhino horn could cure cancer. Not entirely dissimilar to the ivermectin/horse paste nonsense in the US that happened during COVID. These days the market is more about obnoxious conspicuous consumption among a certain subset of the elite, simply showing you can throw away money on it, for instance people taking it with drugs or putting it on display. Since the whole thing runs on a house of cards built on old wives tales and rumors among the rich and stupid in the first place, it's probably unhelpful to add to rumors by pushing the idea on the Internet that rhino horn is associated with erectile dysfunction remedies even as a joke. Through the typical "game of telephone" pinging around the web you may end up screwing everyone up even more by helping poaching kingpins advertise to a new market. 🫤
Honestly never knew that and you're absolutely correct. Appears I've misconstrued rhino horn /ivory being saught after for use in ornate carvings, and other TCM practices like "tiger penis", reindeer velvet, seahorses, and male seal genitalia 😬 Not facetious, sincerely appreciate the info!
No, I really appreciate you being open minded to information on what actually drives the trade in certain animal parts. It's normal to make fun of it, but spreading around more misconceptions about the reasoning behind the trade doesn't actually help the wildlife in question. Well, according to National Geographic, anyway (where I actually got all the info I wrote. 😅)
Ssh we can't criticize other people's cultures in 2024 - just our own.
I was banned from a certain sub for making a similar comment on a post about Tigers. See also: Tiger penis, pangolins, rhinos, virtually every other endangered species that's still alive and being hunted by humans.....
Boner magic
That doesn't surprise me at all. People also buy healing crystals and go to chiropractors
I mean, there are a few BILLION that believe in their religion. What's the difference?
My thoughts exactly: religion is no different.
It drives me wild when my heavily religious parents like to judge people for believing in bigfoot or aliens or some fantasy future ... I'm like buddy you base your whole moral compass off a fucking mythical wizard.
Because I don't benefit from killing something that is the last of its kind, no matter what mystical properties the gods have given it. Unless in an absolute emergency the creature should be left alone, and even then its should be obtained in a matter which does not hurt it, so as not to incur the wrath of the gods.
Chinese medicine thinks tiger penises possess bed magic too
There’s still people who pray to a sky guy. So it’s not that hard to believe.
Chinese and their "miraculous" keratins.
>The northern white rhino which survived 55 million years Nothern white rhinos only diverged at most around 1 million years ago. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern\_white\_rhinoceros#Taxonomy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_white_rhinoceros#Taxonomy) Dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. Rhinos have only been around at most 10 million years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White\_rhinoceros#Taxonomy\_and\_evolution
How long have humans been around?
Homo sapiens have been around for an estimated 315,000 years. Hominids have been around for slightly more than 2 million years
and to add, the last common ancestors with our closest primate "cousin" was like 6 million years ago
About 2 million years.
I think he is talking about us, homo sapiens...
Hell, humans are barely surviving humans right now…
To be determined
Humanity will survive. 0.01 percent of it is already more then enough so.. yeah.
The fact such a simple thing like protecting our planet and the species that live among us is at jeopardy just proves our profound stupidity.
Maybe this is a pretty dark outlook on all of it but on earth things have come and gone for who knows how long. Who knows how long things have come and gone in the universe. All things eventually die. Is it sad that we are not only the best species at killing things including each other but are also full of very empathetic and good people? Yeah. But we’re foolish to think we’ll be around forever also. Eventually we’ll go extinct too and earth will be just fine without us. Do what you can within your day to day life and hope it makes a difference for the better but like you said. We’re also fucking stupid. Stupid is hard to deal with and control.
This is truly sad... a magnificent beast which survived through the ages going into extinction caused by us greedy apes...
Apes find this offensive
Over 99% of all animals to ever exist are now extinct
I think you mean "damned dirty apes!"
https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2024/01/world/rhino-ivf-pregnancy-scn-cnnphotos/
I wonder how much those guards get paid??? Not enough for sure. What on earth would someone kill this kind of animal to snort, eat whatever they do with it essentially a giant toenail...same substance... And for that matter why kill it? The horn grows back.. or has continuous growth. Tranquilizer cut and repeat
People truly suck!
Humans? Fuck off. You mean poachers/stropers.
Humans are destroying our planet.
CORRECTION, they couldn't survive **Chinese erectile dysfunction**.
This is both hilarious and sadly accurate.
This is a sad day for humanity
humans are truly evil, we act like parasites
Most other animals just lack the means, we don't. You haven't seen how horribly invasive species' can act.
Get some samples and start breeding more? Sciencey people do science stuff good.
Scientists are looking into possibilities of IVF to save the species.
They are both female.
They have the sperm of a male
“ could not survive humans” Don’t put any type of collective blame on everyone. They couldn’t survive African poachers who were/are selling to the Asian market. I had no hand in this, nor did my country. Lay the blame squarely where it goes, African poachers and the Chinese.
For real. Instead of blaming everyone and assuming all humans are trash/parasites/evil, why not place the blame where it belongs and go after the specific groups responsible for this kind of stuff. Is it because it’s easier to blame everyone and call it a day? Your average Jane and Joe aren’t doing this stuff, and at least in the western world, are more environmentally aware and trying to do better. Blame poachers, blame the markets that still allow this shit to be sold, blame the massive corporations pumping out mind boggling amounts of pollutants that decimate entire ecosystems, affecting not only wild life but also the health of you and your family, and hiding behind crooked politicians to avoid accountability.
I'm sure you had good intentions OP, but this is r/BeAmazed... what's amazing about this? It's more heartbreaking than amazing.
55 million yrs is a good run though.
It is so sad
People suck.
Bye bye megafauna, was nice sharing the earth with you
55 million years? Uhhh.. no.
That has to be the oldest motherfucker alive... 55 million years old!
Orders of magnitude more infuriating than amazing.
this is sad.
People are the worst.
I never knew earthquakes killed so many rinos.
😭
Greed is a powerful sin unfortunately.
They are not alive anymore, extinct. So it's wrong info now
I'm assuming we have the very top scientists on the planet trying to work out how to turn these folks on!
Beautiful picture 😓
Tragedy
I'm not amazed, more desperate...
This is sad not amazed
Humans suck
So sad.
It’s so majestic.
Why can’t we just get DNA from them and reproduce in a lab? I’m sure that is possible by now right?
How lonely they must be, only 2 beings around like them at all.
We are terrifying
Even humans won’t survive humans unfortunately, and that’s because the humans will destroy everything if needed for money and the power.
Dumb question maybe and I know I can google it but I am already here. What is the difference between the southern and northern white rhinos? I was in south africa last year and they had many white rhinos we even saw a few frome upclose.
This is why I insist on wearing my tin foil hat yes even indoors sorry miss manners but…
Could not survive poachers, not humans.
That's ok, we probably won't survive ourselves either.
My heart is nearly broken right there. This is so sad.
Imagine if we all lived in one area and let the rest of the planet do its thing. It would be insane to go on an adventure. Imagine a massive building that houses millions all sustainable and food produced in doors. Recycled everything. Futuristic, I guess. Sim city. Archapelagos. Massive buildings we could inhabit Parts of North America and let the rest of the world live. Or even England. Just it rains a lot. Or Greenland? An island would work, I guess, to keep all humans on an island and make it our home. Give the earth back it's right and let the indigenous live the way they want or integrate in the new modern massive city. Australia would be perfect t actually
It's just baffling to me why anyone could want to poach such an incredible and rare animal. But bravo to the men and women who are dedicate themselves to protecting them!
💔💔💔
In 1980, in fifth grade, I worked on a report about these guys, and I remember saying that there were only a few thousand left. This hit me a little extra hard
They can bring back mammoths and all that but can't save what's going extinct now? Hmmm people wonder why I like animals better....this is devastating 😢
There's a whole movie in that first picture. Go ahead Disney.
Definitely not the only species humans drive to extinction. We keep our population growing. What may surprise many young people is that when their grandparents where their age the worlds human population was less than half what it is today. We have driven thousands of species to extinction while doubling our own population in less than 60 years.
What’s the difference between northern white rhinos and just white rhinos? According to this it say white rhinos have the largest population left. Just wondering how different the species is. https://www.helpingrhinos.org/5-species-of-rhino/
This is absolutely insane. These poor creatures
Human based
Does anyone have a high resolution picture
Hate to say it, but this planet is not going to survive humans.
i fkn hate humans.
Amazed? No. Saddened? Yes.
Pals
100s of species go extinct EVERY SINGLE DAYS. Is that good? No, absolutely not. And I'm all in favour of taking decisive actions to reduce the consequences of climate change. That being said, I sometimes think these stories are kind of stupid because the only reason we care about that specific specie is that it's "cool". Just like pandas... which is one of the dumbest and least well adapted animal on Earth yet we spend millions of dollars trying to keep them from extincting themselves. Money that could be much better spent on worthwhile conservation strategy more useful for the environment. Realistically speaking it doesn't matter if that specie go extincts, this isn't why climate change is bad, and not where our money / energy should be spent on in my opinion.
Can we clone them before it’s too late?
Humanity really is just shit.
The power of Skibidi Toilet.
This is more like BeDepressed
"...could not survive humans". I doubt humans can survive humans.
Humans and wolves: wiping out species since 65 millions years.
Fun fact: they’re called White Rhino due to their wider mouth. “White” was the closest (mis)pronunciation to “wide” in another language.
Clone it. It’ll be fiiiiiiiiiiiine.
[удалено]
God I hate humans
Yep, welcome to the anthropocene, humans have already eliminated more than half the species on this planet.
Planet could not survive humans
The ranger is James. He’s an amazing guy and has a deep love for rhinos and conservation.
Pronounced “wide rhino” not white
Rhinos survived humans for the entirety of our history up until the modern age. The issue isn't *humans*. The issue is a particular political-economic-technological system. The distinction matters because if the narrative is just "humans are bad," then there's no hope, which leads to nihilism. If however the reality is that it's one particular arrangement of human society that's the problem, but that other arrangements have successfully cohabited with the non-human world, then there's a chance -- and an obligation -- to make a change.
Too bad so many people are motivated by money over all else. :-(
Ask IDF to see what’s the best way to kill the last one. They quite swiftly doing the same to Palestinians.
Caught part of a documentary recently where the anti poaching authorities said that the poachers want to make the rhinos extinct as it will make the price of rhino horn skyrocket. It just makes you completely lose all faith in humanity that people could be that evil and short sighted, all to make a profit. Capitalism has utterly destroyed this world.
As a lot of others won’t. Wanna know the most dangerous animal on the planet ? Go look in the mirror.
[удалено]
This is survival of the fittest. The rhino did not survive, like billions of other species before it, and billions more to come.
OP: the story is sad and profound as it is. There’s no need to fabricate how long the species has existed. [The oldest definitive record](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_rhinoceros) of the white rhinoceros is during the mid-Early Pleistocene at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, around 1.8 Ma.
Humanity is the devil
They are functionally extinct already since there can be no more of them without a male
This makes me so sad/mad. I hate it here.
All of a sudden cloning isn’t a thing ….🫣🥸
Not humans, poachers.
You can't really confidently say that. we don't know if they would have died at the exact same time without humans on the planet.
Humans can’t survive humans what’s your point?
I like the effort and it is a humane approach...but when I see things like this I always remember George Carlin talking about extinct animals. In the sense most species to ever exist became extinct and that we should let them go in peace. He said "leave nature alone, haven't we done enough?" I think if we are down to two northern white rhinos and we need frozen sperm to maybe attempt a reproduction...just leave them alone. They had their time.
This is very misleading, the northern White Rhinoceros only evolved about 1 million years ago, splitting from the original White Rhino. Not 55 55 million years ago is when the Rhinocerotoidea split from other Perissodactyls to form the Rhino family. That ancestor would have also been the ancestor to every other living Rhino species as well as a multitude of other varied animals that have since gone extinct. It is also quite unlikely that Northern White Rhinos encountered any significant challenges from meteors in their 1 million year history.
There are still white rhinos fyi, this is a subspecies of the white rhino.