There’s only one remaining male northern white rhino left in existence and it’s guarded around the clock by armed rangers. It’s one of five northern white rhinos left in the world, three of which are at the Ol Pejeta Conservatory in Kenya.

In 2009, Ol Pejeta took in seven of the remaining northern white rhinos from Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic in the hopes that they would breed, which hasn’t happened yet. But in October of last year, Suni, the other remaining male northern white rhino died at age 34. This leaves Sudan, a 40-year-old male. The sanctuary has 40 armed rangers on staff. According to GrindTV, Sudan has also had his horn removed.

“The only reason his horn has been cut off is to deter poachers,” Eldoie Sampere of the conservancy told The Dodo. “If the rhino has no horn, he is of no interest to poachers. This is purely to keep him safe.”

The northern white rhinoceros was once found in Chad, Central African Republic, Sudan, Zaire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Uganda. And as of the late 1960s, 2,000 of the species remained. However, widespread poaching has meant that the population was decimated and as of 1984, only 15 remained in DRC. The population was increased to 30, but then poaching again destroyed the remaining population and today only five remain. The species was largely victim to the strife that was going on in that part of the world at that time.

Rhino poaching is due to the entirely false ancient belief that rhino horns reduce fever and seizures. Although they have no medicinal value, they’re valued at $30,000 per pound. Last year, 54 rhinos were killed by poachers.

“With the rising demand for rhino horn and ivory, we face many poaching attempts and while we manage to counter a large number of these, we often risk our lives in our line of duty,” Simon Irungu, a ranger with the Ol Pejeta Conservancy said to GrindTV. “Our conservancy is among the least damaged by poaching now, thanks to a dedicated and united team and the support of our management and beyond.”

Artificial insemination has yet to be effective with the rhinos, according to National Geographic, though it has been attempted. Semen and testicular tissue, from Angalifu, a northern white rhino that died in the San Diego zoo, has been preserved in the hopes that in the future the technology will be there to revive the species. There’s also the idea of interbreeding to save the species, though that wouldn’t preserve a pure species.

“Although these animals will not be 100 [percent] northern white rhinos, they will be conserving the important locally adapted genes for the habitats and environment that the northern white rhino was adapted for and evolved within,” the Ol Pejeta Conservancy said in a statement.

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Image of a northern white rhino from Shutterstock

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Sometimes I wonder why I don’t just Google a celebrity of the day in the morning to get my daily news. Maybe if I just typed in “Lindsay Lohan” or “Angelina Jolie” each morning, I could skip my daily skim of MSNBC.com or NewYorkTimes.com and learn all I need to know about the world. After all, don’t celebrities represent all that is human about us? Don’t they represent our hopes, dreams, and sometimes acts of utter nonsense?

Allow me to present Exhibit A, (as I step off my soap box of sarcasm). Recently, supermodel Elle “The Body” MacPherson shared the secrets to her eternal health – and it is that she consumes powdered rhino horn as a dietary supplement. As she told The Times, it tastes a “little bit like crushed bone and fungus in a capsule. Does the job though.” Powdered rhino horn is a tradition of Chinese medicine and has been used to prevent seizures and fevers. It is also illegal and banned worldwide.

Why? Because rhinos have been listed as endangered since 1977. Reports are that there are only 11,000 rhinos left on the planet. Poaching reached an all-time high last year, and four out of five species are on the verge of extinction. As MNN.com reports, most animals are either “shot or tranquilized, left to a slow, agonizing death after their horns are sawed off.” But the choice is simple for some. After all, does the world need supermodels to retain their youthful spirits? Or do we need more rhinos?

Not surprisingly, the 47-year-old model and host of Britain’s Next Top Model has bat-out-of-hell angered everyone from PETA to the Humane Society International. As Erica Martin of The International Fund for Animal Welfare says, “There is no excuse for using any endangered animal products.” As Martin concludes, “Elle has been a successful businesswoman with a high public profile for decades, and people do listen to what she says.”

But Elle is backing down. She now claims her interview, conducted via Twitter, was simply meant as “banter,” that she was “joking,” and that she regrets any offense her banter may have caused. (You can decide for yourself here.) She just announced to news.com.au that she had “never knowingly consumed or encouraged the use or consumption of any products which contain material derived from endangered species”. Thanks, Elle. I’m sure the rhinos of the world appreciate your sympathy. (Woops, stepped back up on the soapbox of sarcasm.)

Image: Y! Música

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