Saving the Northern White Rhino

In a private conservancy in northern Kenya, a subspecies of rhinoceros faces extinction. There are just three northern white rhinos left on the planet. They live on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, one of Africa's best-established rhino sanctuaries, in the Laikipia region of Kenya. Ol Pejeta is also home to the more widely known subspecies of black rhino and southern white rhino. It's the only location in the world where you can see three different rhino subspecies in one place. The northern white rhinos in Ol Pejeta are not wild and remain under guarded watch, as they are the last hope for sustaining their kind.

In 2009, four of the last remaining northern white rhino—Najin, Fatu, Sudan and Suni—were relocated to Ol Pejeta from the Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic in a project ominously dubbed "Last Chance to Survive." There was a hope that their native habitat would be more conducive to breeding, which had not been successful in captivity. After the disappointing loss of Suni, who died of natural causes in October 2014, the females, Najin and Fatu, were found unable to reproduce naturally after many months of failed attempts. In July 2015, the Dvur Kralove Zoo lost Nabire, one of the rhinos that had remained at the zoo, and then in November 2015, the San Diego Zoo lost Nola, leaving only the three living in Ol Pejeta.

With Sudan as the last male and the two females unable to reproduce naturally, a last-ditch initiative to use in vitro fertilization to save the subspecies has commenced. The Make a Rhino campaign is an effort between the Dvur Kralove Zoo and Ol Pejeta Conservancy to raise $1million U.S. dollars to artificially inseminate the females in an attempt to save the northern white rhino from extinction. Click here to contribute.

If you would like to witness these remarkable creatures before it's too late, include Kenya's Ol Pejeta Conservancy in your safari. Our recommended camp in Ol Pejeta is the eco-conscious Kicheche Laikipia Camp. It’s a great value and is situated in one of the more remote areas of the conservancy. The Grand Kenya safari is an excellent way to experience this area along with other highlights of Kenya.

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