Sudan: Google doodle honours the world’s last male northern white rhino

The animal, known as an affectionate ‘gentle giant’, passed away in 2018

Google is commemorating the last surviving male northern white rhinoceros, Sudan, in its doodle today (Sunday 20th December).

The animal passed away in 2018 at the age of 45 (the equivalent of 90 in human years), effectively rendering the entire subspecies extinct.

His life and memory serve as a symbol of ongoing rhino conservation efforts and a stark reminder of the danger of extinction faced by many species today.

The northern white rhino was once abundant across Central Africa but staggering rates of illegal hunting for its horn have led to it’s assumed extinction in the wild.

Sudan, known as an affectionate “gentle giant”, was born in South Sudan in 1973 before he was taken to Dvůr Králové Zoo in then Czechoslovakia in 1976. 

He is believed to be the last male of his kind born in the wild and in captivity grew to be 6 feet tall,  a whopping 5,000 lbs (roughly the weight of a midsize car) and fathered two daughters.

Sudan was transported to Ol Pajeta Conservancy in Kenya in 2009 (EPA)

After the northern white rhino was declared extinct in the wild in 2009, four rhinos including Sudan, his daughter Najin and his grandaughter Fatu were transferred back to their native African habitat.

They arrived at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya, where conservationists hoped the natural environment would encourage breeding among the animals. 

Within several years, however, veterinarians came to the conclusion that natural reproduction was unlikely. 

Since Sudan’s death the future of the northern white rhino rests on his female relatives - Najin and Fatu - the world’s final pair who live under constant protection from poachers. 

There remains hope, as scientists work to develop in vitro fertilisation techniques to save the subspecies from the brink of extinction. 

Experts aim to use southern white rhino surrogates as a way to preserve and maintain the northern rhino genes into the future, but the fate of the species remains uncertain.