Nabire, a 32-years-old northern female white rhinoceros, died at the Dvur Kralove Zoo after suffering complications from the rupture of a large cyst. Her death is a reminder of extinction of northern white rhinoceros as there are only four of them left, one male and three elderly females. The 41-years-old male rhino is too old to breed now.
It is a terrible loss. Nabiré was the kindest rhino ever bred in our zoo. It is not just that we were very fond of her. Her death is a symbol of the catastrophic decline of rhinos due to a senseless human greed. Her species is on the very brink of extinction,
said Přemysl Rabas, the director of the zoo.
The catastrophic decline of rhino population is the result of excessive poaching and hunting activities. The rhino-horns are in high demand in the international market. In 1960, the population of northern white rhinos was 2,000 that dropped to 15 in 1984. In 2015, we have only four elderly individuals left, and they aren’t able to breed.
These four remaining rhinos include Nola, a female living at a zoo in San Deigo, and Sudan, a male and two females, Najin and her daughter Fatu, living at the Ol Pejeta reserve in Kenya.
Southern relatives of white rhino species are also at the brink of extinction. Now, wildlife experts are thinking of mating southern and northern rhinos to delay complete extinction. However, they aren’t sure whether this method will work or not.
Poaching and hunting killed over 1,000 African rhinos in 2013 – biggest slaughter in a single year ever. It was 1.5 times higher than it was in 2012 at 668 white rhinos. All of it for their horns, which are highly coveted as luxury items in parts of Asia.
This death reminded us not only about the extinction of white rhinos, but all other animal species that are on the verge of extinction. The earth is going to miss these fascinating creations of the nature and humanity will regret this slaughter.