Wildlife

Last Male Northern White Rhino — And He's Sick

Sudan, a 45-year-old rhino and the last male of his subspecies (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), is ailing in the wake of two infections on his back right leg, according to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the wildlife sanctuary in Kenya where the last three northern white rhinoceroses on the planet live. "At the advanced age of 45, his health has begun deteriorating, and his future is not looking bright," according to Sudan's caregivers.

Even before this health setback, the chances of Sudan fathering new northern white rhinoceroses in his lifetime were basically nil. This subspecies of rhinoceros used to roam across Uganda, Chad, Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but poaching and chaos from years of civil war in the region sent the population plummeting. The last time a was seen outside of captivity was 2007, and the subspecies is presumed extinct in the wild.

Flamingo Return

The population of Florida’s iconic pink flamingos is rebounding after the birds were virtually eliminated across the state by hunting in the late 1800s.

Since 1950, American flamingos have been seen in greater numbers and more often. But because there were so few of them during most of the 20th century, some had argued flamingos weren’t a native species.

New research finds that there were probably large flocks of the birds across the state before their colorful feathers and prized eggs led them to be hunted to near oblivion.