Sudan, the last surviving male northern white rhino, grazes at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia national park, Kenya May 3, 2017.
Sudan, the last surviving male northern white rhino, grazes at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia national park, Kenya May 3, 2017.
Photograph by Baz Ratner, Reuters

Survival of Northern White Rhino Hinges on Last Sick Male

There are only three northern white rhinos left in the world, and a worsening infection could be getting the best of one of them.

In spring of 2017, guardians of the world's last male northern white rhino joined a dating app on his behalf to raise awareness about conservation efforts. But now, the health of this rare rhino is failing, and the subspecies might be one step closer to extinction.

Sudan, a 45-year-old male northern white rhino, is suffering from a nasty infection on his back right leg, which festered underneath an age-related ailment he developed last year. This new infection is not responding to treatment, and his keepers are considering euthanasia if the pain gets to be too much for him. (Read: "To Rescue or Not, That is the Question With Distressed Animals")

"It has been a struggle," says

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