Death of Rare White Rhino Leaves 5 in the World

Breeding northern white rhinos with their cousins may help preserve their genes, scientists say.

When an elderly northern white rhinoceros died Sunday at the San Diego Zoo, he left behind just five of his kind on Earth. As for the chances of any more being born, scientists say, there is limited hope.

The rhino, named Angalifu, was 44 years old and under veterinary care for a variety of ailments at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, mammal curator Randy Rieches said in a statement. The death, he added, "is a tremendous loss to all of us."

The remaining animals, all captive, include a female at the San Diego Zoo, a female in a zoo in the Czech Republic, and two females and a male at Kenya's Ol Pejeta Conservancy, which is part of

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