Fatu and Najin are the last two living Northern White Rhinos after Sudan, the last living male, died by being euthanized at the age of 45 on March, 19, 2018 in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The species was driven to being functionally extinct by poaching, habitat loss, and war.

Sudan is the father of Najin and Najin is the mother of Fatu. Najin’s mother was Nasima and her half-sister was Nabire, both of whom are dead. Fatu’s father was Saut who also passed. They were all discovered in 1903.

The species is now functionally extinct because Fatu has serious uterine problems and Najin has a weak hind leg and an ovarian tumor so the two last females cannot reproduce.

However, there has been an effort to save the species. Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt is leading the project, called BioRescue. Dr. Hildebrandt is using Southern White Rhinos as surrogates to carry embryos of the Northern White Rhino. BioRescue has now made 38 pure embryos of the species. At the San Diego Zoo there are 8 and at the Dvur Khalore Zoo there are 6.

The species used to be found in southern Chad, Western Uganda, Eastern Central African Republic, South-Western Sudan, and Northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Hopefully, the species will be brought back to life.