The last two northern white rhinos on the planet reside in a former cattle ranch in Africa and are under a strict 24-hour armed guard.
Ol Pejeta Conservancy, situated between the foothills of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya, works tirelessly to provide sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees, African bush elephants and Cape buffalo.
Thought to host around 100 mammals and 500 bird species, Ol Pejeta is also the home to Najin and Fatu – the last two remaining northern white rhinos on Earth.
This particular breed of rhinoceros is not native to Kenya but previously thrived in northern and central African countries, as per the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
Historically, uncontrolled hunting has been the source of the herbivore’s ‘functional extinction’, due to the beasts’ horn being a desirable prize, writes the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
It’s thought that in the 1980s, there were just 15 animals left in the wild. Now though, there are just two northern white rhinos alive – a mother-and-daughter duo who cannot reproduce naturally.
There are only two white rhinos left in the world (Getty Images)
It’s understood the pair initially arrived at Ol Pejeta from a Czech zoo in 2009, along with two male members of their species called Suni and Sudan.
At the time of their arrival, there were four of the seven left of their kind.
The critically endangered animals were placed in a dedicated 700-acre enclosure and put under 24-hour armed surveillance, states BBC Travel.
Despite the painstaking care given to the mammals, the male pair died along with the other white rhinos being looked after at other institutions.
The subsequent deaths of Suni and Sudan have seen a few southern white female rhinos joining Najin and Fatu in the enclosure, so that they don’t get lonely.
Speaking about how ‘grateful’ he is to have guarded the beasts for 14 years, Ol Pejeta’s Head Keeper Zachary Mutai told the publication: “I feel so grateful that I get to look after the last two of their kind.
“But at the same time, it’s a huge weight on my shoulders because they need so much special care, and the whole world is watching.”
With only Najin and Fatu left, it would appear that all hope is lost and that one day, the northern white rhino will become extinct.
However, thanks to some recent medical breakthroughs, it appears that may not actually be the case.
Scientific breakthroughs may lead to the repopulation of the species (TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)
Last March, Science Focus reported that an international group of scientists had been working to bring the beast back from the brink of extinction.
This team – dubbed the BioRescue project – has been creating ‘test tube rhinos’ and has since been successful at transferring a lab-created rhino embryo into a surrogate mother.
The scientific experiment was carried out with southern white rhinos and according to Susanne Holtze, a scientist at Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany, BioRescue plans to repeat this with its almost-extinct cousins.
“To achieve the first successful embryo transfer in a rhino is a huge step,” Holtze stated. “But now I think with this achievement, we are very confident that we will be able to create northern white rhinos in the same manner and that we will be able to save the species.”
As per BBC News, neither Najin nor Fatu will be able to carry a pregnancy due to a combination of age and health issues.
So instead, the synthetic embryo will be implanted into the womb of a surrogate
southern white rhino.
Here’s hoping that these magnificent creatures will one day roam the wild again.
