OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY, KENYA- With the death of the last male northern white rhinoceros the species is bound to upcoming extinction or is it? Sudan, the last male northern white rhinoceros, died on March 19th at the age of 45 from sickness due to aging. Two northern white rhino species remain, Najin and her daughter Fatu, they are also residing at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Come to think of it, how did these dominant species become so close to extinction? In the 1970s and 1980s, demand for rhino horn dramatically increased for medicines in Asia and dagger handles in Yemen. Populations of this species were wiped out by poachers in Uganda, Central African Republic, Sudan and Chad. By 2008 the species was no longer in the wild, but solely in captivity. As the last 4 remaining fertile rhinos were moved to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, breeding was attempted, but no successful pregnancies emerged. It was found that the females were incapable of natural reproduction and that only 1 female was capable of artificial reproduction. But now with only 2 female rhinos left, how can we still try to save the species? Scientists will use the eggs of the remaining females and the stored semen from the male rhinos to mate with a surrogate southern white rhino. This is only possible because the southern white rhino is so genetically similar. However, a major problem which will occur from this is a lack of genetic variability, which will hurt the health of the species as a whole and make it more prone to disease. Even if the species becomes extinct, there is still a backup plan. De-extinction is the process of which we take stored eggs and sperm and fertilize the egg, then place in a similar species to give birth to it. Even though this sounds almost impossible, scientists have successfully cloned an extinct species of Ibex. Science is breaking new discoveries and who knows what will happen to these rhinos! But it is important that humans take from the death of Sudan that we need to be more conscientious of our actions to the environment. How can we proudly hold the title of the only planet found in life if we are destroying the very thing which makes our planet Earth?