Remembering Sudan the Rhino

A couple of weeks ago, I shared that we went to my youngest daughter’s school to make a plaster gauze mask for her that would be used for the yearly Spanish immersion third-grade Day of the Dead performance.

Making Plaster Gauze Cloth Mask for Day of the Dead

This week we got to see the finished masks.

Girl wearing mask honoring Sudan the rhino

If you look closely you can see that the masks are decorated with rhino imagery.

That imagery is a tribute to Sudan, the last male northern white rhino.

Girl wearing mask honoring last male white rhino

Each mask features a gem on the nose as a symbol of the poaching that has driven northern white rhinos to the brink of extinction. Poachers kill rhinos for their horns which are used in traditional Chinese medicine and to make dagger handles in Yemen.

We learned about Sudan through poetry.

The students recited bilingual poetry and shared the history of Sudan and how he came to be the last male of the northern white rhino subspecies – the other white rhino subspecies being the southern white rhino.

Sudan was 45 years old when he died.

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In March of 2018, the last male Northern White Rhino named Sudan passed away. This devastating loss meant that the Northern White Rhino species will become extinct after the last two females pass. Sudan was the last chance for future generations to see this beautiful species. Poaching has been the biggest threat to rhinos causing many species to become endangered. Stopping the illegal trade market for traditional medicines and art that uses the ivory from rhino horns is the first step to saving these beautiful creatures. ••• Photo Credits: Ami Vitale, National Geographic Creative #northernwhiterhinos #sudantherhino #endangeredspecies #protectwildlife

A post shared by Protect Wildlife (@protect_wildlife_) on Nov 4, 2019 at 9:12pm PST

His death was not unexpected as he was quite old. In human years he was around 90 years old. Nonetheless, his death marks a huge loss for the entire world.

There are now only two northern white rhinos left in the world.

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Since Sudan’s death, there are only two northern white rhinos left on the planet: Najin and Fatu, mother and daughter. Luckily, @jemu_mwenda is there to take care of them. #savetherhinos #rhinos #whiterhinos #olpejeta #olpejetarhinos #sudantherhino #rememberingsudan #kenya #wildlife #lastmalestanding

A post shared by The Last Male on Earth (@thelastmaleonearth) on Aug 4, 2019 at 6:44am PDT

The two remaining northern white rhinos are females, which means that if scientists can’t find a way to impregnate them using in vitro fertilization or some other kind of scientific wizardry, there will be no more northern white rhinos on the planet.

Rest in peace, Sudan.

It is with great sadness that Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the Dvůr Králové Zoo announce that Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino, age 45, died at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya on March 19th, 2018 (yesterday). #SudanForever #TheLoneBachelorGone #Only2Left pic.twitter.com/1ncvmjZTy1
— Ol Pejeta (@OlPejeta) March 20, 2018

Fortunately, southern white rhinos are fairing better with a population of around 18,000. But we need to remain vigilant on their behalf because poaching is not a thing of the past.

Hopefully, educating our children will go far in changing how we treat wildlife.

Two girls wearing masks in honor of Sudan the rhino

A huge thank you to the teachers who put together this performance. It was a beautiful thing to see third graders celebrating the life of Sudan and teaching their fellow schoolmates as well as the adults in attendance about the human behaviors that have led to the impending extinction of northern white rhinos.