{"id":1528,"date":"2021-06-21T08:33:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T08:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=1528"},"modified":"2022-02-21T09:54:27","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T09:54:27","slug":"white-rhino-is-not-an-extinct-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/white-rhino-is-not-an-extinct-species\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact-Check: Have White Rhinos gone extinct\u2026? No, here\u2019s the fact…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Deforestation is a sensitive issue, not just in Sri Lanka but across the world as it destroys not only trees but also natural habitat of many species. Some of these species are endangered in some cases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, some viral posts fueled discussion about deforestation on social media. These posts claimed that the majestic White Rhinoceros have gone extinct. However, when we did a fact check on these claims, we found that the White Rhinos are not extinct. Let\u2019s check out how we got to this conclusion by following our research methodology given in details below. But first, let us understand the claim made by the above mentioned viral posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Media Claim<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside an image showing a white rhino lying on the ground, a number of posts were shared on social media during the first week of June. The description given below was shared by many users with the photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThe end of an era<\/em>\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The northern white rhino which survived 55 million years and saw ice ages, earthquakes, meteor strikes, and was testament to innumerable historical changes on the planet could not survive humans<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The great beast is now functionally extinct<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We as a species can achieve the greatest things but also be a truly evil pest to nature<\/em>\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Facebook<\/a> | Achieved<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar posts were shared in Sri Lanka as well. However these claimed that the world\u2019s last White Rhinoceros had died on 19th<\/sup> March 2018 and the world would not be able to witness another white rhinoceros on Earth, and did not specify about Northern White Rhinoceros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Facebook<\/a> | Archived<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact Check <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka started investigating this claim by running Google Reverse Image search of the first post and reviewing previous reports by reliable media outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The death of the world\u2019s last male northern white rhinoceros was reported by The Guardian more than three years ago. The U.K.-based media organization reported that the male rhinoceros whose name is Sudan, 45 years old, was euthanized on March 19, 2018 at Ol Pejeta Conservancy \u2013 a wildlife sanctuary in Northern Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was put down after the pain from illness, leaving behind only two reported female northern white rhinoceroses in the world, Najin and her daughter Fatu \u2013 a daughter and a granddaughter of Sudan, according to the Guardian\u2019s report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guardian<\/a> | Archived Link<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world\u2019s last male northern white rhinoceros was named \u201cSudan\u201d after his home country Sudan \u2013 where he was born in 1973. Here<\/a> is an image published on Getty Images of the male northern white rhinoceros Sudan from 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However the image of the rhino mentioned in the first social media claims is not Sudan, it is Najin (daughter of Sudan) who was resting while being comforted by a zoo keeper, according to a Xinhua\u2019s report published in May 2019 with the photo dates back to March 30, 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Xinhua<\/a> | Archived Link<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the loss of Sudan in 2018, the northern white rhinoceros species was deemed functionally extinct. IUCN has named the species to be possibly extinct in the wild and has categorized as critically endangered<\/strong><\/a> as seen in this article<\/a> titled \u201cConservation efforts bring cautious hope for African rhinos – IUCN Red List\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ICUN Listing for Northern White Rhino is seen below, which also lists only 02 individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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IUCN<\/a> | Archived<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, scientists still hope to revive the species by creating artificial reproductive methods using the sperm left by Sudan on Najin & Fatu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its press release on April 29, 2021, Ol Pejeta Conservancy \u2013 a wildlife sanctuary operated by Fauna and Flora International \u2013 expressed a further development as scientists and conservationists created four embryos in hope to rescue the species from extinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization said the rescue mission was to harvest immature egg cells from the two females and artificially inseminate these using frozen sperm from deceased males in order to create viable northern white rhino embryos since 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest development was called \u201cthe most successful of series of procedures\u201d toward the preventing extinction of the northern white rhino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ol Pejeta\u2019s Press Release<\/a> | Archived Link<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However the time is running out for this majestic creatures and below is a video on the latest developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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