World’s Last Male Northern White Rhino Joins Tinder To Save His Species

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(Newswire.net — April 29, 2017) — The only kind of rhinos that can survive in the wilderness in Central Africa is northern white rhino, but the last male on the planet refuses to mate.

Zoologists have tried any method known to them to make Sudan, the last white northern rhino, naturally mate with the two remaining suitors. The only solution left is to develop a technique for in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

“It’s never ever has been done in rhinos before,” Richard Vigne, head of Ol Pejeta Conservancy, told the BBC. “This is a 10-year program to recover that species,” he added.

Sudan, who has been dubbed “The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World,” lives in Kenya, where he was brought to mate with two last female northern white rhinos on the planet.

Sudan is under 24/7 armed protection. His whole species is the victim of human greed for its pricey horns that got more expensive and more desirable as it became rare.

The whole species is down to a single male and two female rhinos that scientists are now trying to save.  

The estimated cost of research into breeding methods, including in-vitro fertilization, is around $10 million. To raise funds, Sudan’s protectors have signed him to Tinder, a dating app, appealing for donations behind a “bachelor’s” message.

“I don’t mean to be too forward, but the fate of my species literally depends on me,” the message on tinder reads. “I perform well under pressure… 6ft tall and 5,000lb if it matters,” says Sudan’s profile, which has been made available all over the world.

Richard Vigne and his team at Ol Pejeta Conservancy will try to keep Sudan alive as long as they can, but they are racing against time as Sudan is 43 years old, or 100 in rhino’s years.  

Numerous articles and TV shows have been dedicated to Sudan, the last male northern white rhino standing.     

Scientists do not rule out the possibility of using Sudan’s sperm for IVF with southern white rhinos – although they are a distinct species, arguing that the crossing option would be better than the extinction.