![]() ![]() Last night that hope was echoed by Prof Ted Benton from the University of Essex, an environmental social scientist and member of the Red-Green study group. “One day, his demise will hopefully be seen as a seminal moment for conservationists worldwide.” “He was a great ambassador for his species and will be remembered for the work he did to raise awareness globally of the plight facing not only rhinos, but also the many thousands of other species facing extinction as a result of unsustainable human activity. “We on Ol Pejeta are all saddened by Sudan’s death,” said Richard Vigne, Ol Pejeta’s chief executive. The rhino was unable to stand and was visibly suffering. The veterinary team said they had decided to put Sudan to sleep after his condition worsened over the weekend, leaving him with bad skin wounds. But there was nothing mean about him,” said Elodie Sampere, a representative for Ol Pejeta. “He was a gentle giant, his personality was just amazing and given his size, a lot of people were afraid of him. He had been moved to Dvůr Králové zoo in the Czech Republic in the 1970s before being returning to Africa, where according to those who worked in the Ol Pejeta conservancy, “he stole the heart of many with his dignity and strength”. Since then the northern white rhino was one of several sub species that has been pushed to the brink of extinction. But due to poaching – driven by the trade in Rhino horn – and habitat loss, that figure had fallen to 70,000 by 1970. Now we must stand up and demand action – take action – to prevent the same thing happening to cheetah, elephants, black rhinos, giraffes – we must take ownership of this as Africans and educate people.”Ībout half a million rhinos roamed in Africa and Asia in 1900. “We did not do enough to save this majestic species. “The outpouring of grief from Kenyans, especially the younger generation, who woke up to hear that Sudan was dead this morning is a powerful reminder that we must never allow this to happen again.” In Kenya Paula Kahumbu, director of the Wildlife Direct charity, said the news of Sudan’s death had hit people hard. ![]()
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