The Northern White Rhino

Angalifu, a male Northern White rhinoceros at the San Diego Zoo
Safari Park. Angalifu died 14 December 2014[27]

Conservation Status of the Northern White rhino:
EW - Extinct in the Wild (IUCN 3.1)[28]

Poaching has traditionally been defined as the illegal hunting, killing, or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

In 1998 environmental scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst proposed the concept of poaching as an environmental crime. They considered poaching as one of the most serious threats to the survival of plant and animal populations.[1][7]

Wildlife biologists and conservationists consider poaching to have a detrimental effect on biodiversity both within and outside protected areas: as wildlife populations decline, species are depleted locally, and the functionality of ecosystems is disturbed.[1][8]

***

The Northern White rhino formerly ranged over parts of northwestern Uganda, southern Chad, southern South Sudan, the eastern part of Central African Republic, and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.[9][12]

Poachers reduced their population from 500 to 15 in the 1970s and 1980s. [9]

From the early 1990's through mid-2003, the population recovered with 30 animals confirmed in 2000, and possibly six others.[9][13]

Since mid-2003, however, poaching intensified and reduced the wild population to only 7 animals as of 2007.[9][14]

Four rhinos living in Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were the last known wild Northern White rhinos. The four consisted of a solitary adult male and a group of one adult male and two adult females.[9][15]

In June 2008, it was reported that the species may have gone extinct in the wild, since none of these four known remaining individuals had been seen since 2006.[9][16][17]

***

As of 2011, the total number of Northern White rhinos on the planet was reported to be five males and two females (3 in captivity and 4 in conservancy).[9][18]

A Northern White rhinoceros at the ZOO Dvůr Králové

In 2009, four of the six rhinos from Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic (2 male and 2 female) were transported to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, Africa.[9][19][20]

One of four Northern White rhinos transported to
Ol Pejeta in Kenya is now living in a semi-wild state. 

All four rhinos were sedated and had their horns sawed off. This made them less vulnerable to the poaching. In place of their horns, radio transmitters were installed to allow closer monitoring of their whereabouts.[9][21]

On 25 April 2012 and on 27 May 2012 two of the rhinos, Suni (male) and Najin (female) mated.[22]

Rhinoceros gestation period takes 16 to 18 months.[9][23] By January 2014 the Conservancy considered Najin not pregnant.

An attempt was then made to mate the two females, Najin and Fatu with a male Southern White rhino from Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to at least intercross the subspecies.[9]

In October 2014, The Ol Pejeta Conservancy announced the death of the male rhino Suni from unknown causes. The Conservancy has ruled out poaching as the cause of death.[9][24][25]

***

As of December 2014, there are only five rhinos of this subspecies left in captivity:

• Three in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, Africa.[9][10] 
• One in Dvůr Králové Zoo, in the Czech Republic. (The other died in late May 2011.)[9][11] 
• One at the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park, in California. (As was mentioned in the photo at the top, a second rhino, Angalifu, who also lived at the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park, died in December 2014.)[9]

Excerpt from, Another Northern White Rhino Dies, Only 5 Remain[26] By John R. Platt | December 16, 2014 |  

The three remaining at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy all have,  

“medical problems that will make reproduction difficult even with artificial techniques. The male, Sudan, has low sperm count with “low motility and some morphological abnormality,” according to a conservancy press release, although they note that this does not rule out his potential for fatherhood. Of the two females, the youngest one, Fatu, has degenerative lesions in her uterus that will prevent her from conceiving. Her mother, Najin, is now the subspecies’s best bet. Her reproductive organs are fine but she suffers from weak back knees that would make mounting by a male a dangerous experience.”

Updates & Related:

Mashable / November 22, 2015 / Nola, 1 of 4 remaining northern white rhinos, passes away

Live Science / August 25, 2015 / Sumatran Rhino Goes Extinct in the Wild in Malaysia
Scientific American / July 29, 2105 / Another Northern White Rhino Dies--and Then There Were 4

LiveScience / June 8, 2015 / In Photos: The Last 5 Northern White Rhinos

Scientific American / April 27, 2015 / The Last 3 Bornean Rhinos Are In A Race Against Extinction

MailOnline / April 15, 2015 /  Only Surviving Male Northern White Rhino Is Put Under Armed Guard 24 Hours A Day

Tacticalshit.com / April 13, 2015 / Armed Rangers Fight To Protect The Last Male Northern White Rhino Left On Earth

The Washington Post / Jan. 31, 2014 / Break the Link Between Terrorism Funding and Poaching

Scientific American / Jan. 23, 2015 / 1,215: The Record Number of Rhinos Poached in 2014

WWF White Rhinoceros

References:

[1] Poaching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poaching

[2] Webster, N. (1968). Websters New 20th Century dictionary of the English Language (2nd ed.). Cleveland: World Publishing Company. p. 1368.

[3] Random House (2001). Random House Webster's unabridged dictionary (2nd, unabridged ed.). New York: Random House. p. 1368. ISBN 0375425993.

[4] World Book Inc. (2005). World book encyclopedia. 15, P. Chicago, IL: World Book. p. 5871. ISBN 0716601052.

[5] Merriam-Webster, Inc. (2003). "Poaching". The Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, Inc. Retrieved 18 August 2013.

[6] McKean, E. (ed.) (2005). "Poaching". The new Oxford American dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved18 August 2013.

[7] Muth, R. M. and Bowe Jr., J. F. (1998). Illegal harvest of renewable natural resources in North America: Toward a typology of the motivations for poaching. Society & Natural Resources 11(1): 9–24.

[8] Lindsey, P., Balme, G., Becker, M., Begg, C., Bento, C., Bocchino, C., Dickman, A., Diggle, R., Eves, H., Henschel, P., Lewis, D., Marnewick, K., Mattheus, J., McNutt, J. W., McRobb, R., Midlane, N., Milanzi, J., Morley, R., Murphree, M., Nyoni, P., Opyene, V., Phadima, J., Purchase, N., Rentsch, D., Roche, C., Shaw, J., van der Westhuizen, H., Van Vliet, N., Zisadza, P. (2012).Illegal hunting and the bush-meat trade in savanna Africa: drivers, impacts and solutions to address the problem. Panthera, Zoological Society of London, Wildlife Conservation Society report, New York.

[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_white_rhinoceros

[10] Northern White Rhinos. olpejetaconservancy.org

[11] Johnston, Raymond (2 June 2011). "White rhino dies in Czech zoo, seven left worldwide". Czech Position.

[12] Sydney, J. (1965). "The past and present distribution of some African ungulates".Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 3: 1–397.doi:10.1017/S0030605300006815.

[13] Smith, Kes Hillman (July–December 2001). "Status of northern white rhinos and elephants in Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo, during the wars". Pachyderm journal of the African Elephant, African Rhino and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups 31: 79–81

[14]  International Rhino Foundation. 2002. Rhino Information – Northern White Rhino. 19 September 2006.

[15] IUCN. (25 January 2005). Reprieve planned for Garamba's rhinos: extra efforts promised to safeguard their homeland. Gland, Switzerland.

[16] Smith, Lewis (17 June 2008) Poachers kill last four wild northern white rhinos. timesonline.co.uk.

[17] Skinner, J.D. and Smithers, R.H.N. (1990). The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion, Cambridge University Press, p. 567, ISBN 0521844185.

[18] Jabr, Ferris (5 September 2011) "Stem cells could pull rhinos back from the brink", New Scientist.

[19] Northern White Rhinos olpejetaconservancy.org

[20] Northern White Rhinos Arrive on Ol Pejeta, Ol Pejeta Conservancy website, Saturday, 23 December 2009.

[21] Northern White Rhinos Progress, Ol Pejeta Conservancy (15 January 2010).

[22] Hope for the northern white rhinos Suni and Najin mate; Twice!

[23]  "A Day in the Life of a Northern White Rhino" (11 June 2013) Ol Pejeta Conservancy

[24] "V rezervaci v Keni uhynul nosorožec z dvorské zoo. Zatím se neví proč". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). 18 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.

[25] http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/10/19/357356495/one-of-seven-white-rhinos-left-in-the-world-dies-in-kenya

[26] http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2014/12/16/northern-white-rhino-dies/?WT.mc_id=SA_Facebook

[27] "A northern white rhino has died. There are now five left in the entire world.".Washington Post. 2014-12-15.

[28]  Emslie, R. (2011). "Ceratotherium simum ssp. cottoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved18 January 2012.

BBC Last Chance to See special entitled "Return of the Rhino", presented by Stephen Fry and the zoologist Mark Carwardine. "Return of the Rhino". BBC, 2010, first aired on 31 October 2010, on BBC 2 (UK).

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2014/12/16/northern-white-rhino-dies/?WT.mc_id=SA_Facebook

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/12/15/a-northern-white-rhino-has-died-there-are-now-five-left-in-the-entire-world/

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/rhinoceros/african_rhinos/white_rhinoceros/

Image Credits

"Northern White Rhinoceros Angalifu" by Sheep81 - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northern_White_Rhinoceros_Angalifu.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Northern_White_Rhinoceros_Angalifu.jpg

"Ceratotherium.simum.cottoni-01-ZOO.Dvur.Kralove" by Mistvan - Own work. Licensed under GFDL via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ceratotherium.simum.cottoni-01-ZOO.Dvur.Kralove.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Ceratotherium.simum.cottoni-01-ZOO.Dvur.Kralove.jpg

"Ceratotherium simum cottoni -Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya" by Lengai101 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ceratotherium_simum_cottoni_-Ol_Pejeta_Conservancy,_Kenya.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Ceratotherium_simum_cottoni_-Ol_Pejeta_Conservancy,_Kenya.jpg