caged white rhino There are only eight left on the entire planet. Living behind bars in foreign lands, at times struggling to survive in snow when they have evolved for temperate climes and grasslands. Any last remaining few wild ones have not been seen in many years and it is feared they have fallen victim to poachers or civil war and armed conflict. They are the world’s second largest land animal – the Northern White Rhino – a large lumbering but gentle beast that could disappear in our lifetime.

The Northern White Rhino once roamed over parts of north-western Uganda, southern Chad, southern Sudan, eastern Central African Republic and north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1960, more than 2,000 still existed but hunting, primarily for their horn, has caused their virtual extinction. The northern white rhino is not actually white – it’s grey. Its name is a result of a misinterpretation of the Dutch "wijde" (wide in English), due to the width of its mouth, which is an adaptation that helps them graze on grass. Whereas the black rhino has a pointed mouth, adapted for browsing on leaves, shoots and branches.

Conservation Action

On 20 December 2009, four of the world’s last known remaining eight northern white rhinos were relocated from captivity back to the wild, thanks to the collaborative efforts of a consortium of conservation organisations. ”Northern white rhinos are the world’s rarest large mammal,” said Dr Rob Brett, Africa Regional Director, Fauna & Flora International and member of the IUCN African Rhino Specialist group. The rhinos were moved from Dvur Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya as part of the “Last Chance to Survive” project.

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”They are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and are thought to be extinct in the wild. Moving them now is a last bid effort to save them and their gene pool from total extinction.”

The motivation for the move is to induce normal social and territorial behaviour that is thought to be essential for the rhinos to breed naturally. Conservationists believe that by providing the four rhinos with a natural habitat and a secure African setting will significantly increase their chances of breeding successfully. To date, captive breeding of northern white rhino in zoos has had limited success, with breeding only occurring at Dvur Králové Zoo. The last calf was born in 2000.

Video: Last Chance to Save the Northern White Rhino


Two males and two females were relocated to Africa, flying nearly 6,500 kilometres back to their homeland. The process of selection was driven by a single criterion: their likelihood of normal breeding. At 38, Sudan, a male, is the oldest of the four. He was wild-born in southern Sudan. Next oldest is Suni, also male, he is 29 and was born in Dvur Králové Zoo. The remaining two rhinos were also born in the same zoo and are both female, Najin is 20 and the mother of Fatu, the youngest of the four at only 9 years old.

The long-term objective is to reintroduce northern white rhinos and future offspring into secure habitats within their former range. This objective may only be realised over the next 20-30 years. The first objective is to encourage breeding and a viable breeding nucleus at Ol Pejeta, from which new populations can be translocated to create or reinforce existing southern white rhino populations with northern white rhino genes. By increasing the number of populations, the overall risk to the subspecies will be spread and reduced.

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“The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is immensely proud to have received the endorsement of the IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group in hosting these animals, giving them a chance to breed at the 11th hour,” said Richard Vigne, Chief Executive Officer, Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

The latest report is that the rhinos are doing well and adapting quickly. If you want to keep up to date on how they are or find out how to visit them, go to Ol Pejeta’s website or join in and assist in the fight for their survival through the Fauna & Flora International website.


Written by Suze Chalmers


Images courtesy of Last Chance to Save the Northern White Rhino site.