The world’s last male northern white rhino had passed away due to age-related illnesses and infections, on March 20, 2018.

Scientific American says that for the past month, the animal’s health had been slowly deteriorating and had gotten worse when he could no longer stand on his own.

The 45-year-old (very old in rhino age) rhino named Sudan lived in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, surrounded by armed guards in the days leading up to his death to protect him from poachers, according to CNN News.

Poachers, who illegally hunt animals, are a main reason why rhinos, African elephants and so many other animals are in danger of extinction.

Rhinos are poached for their horns, which are used in traditional chinese medicine.

Sudan was huge. Given the size of the animal, workers at Ol Pejeta loved him. “He was a gentle giant,” said Elodie Sampere, a representative for Ol Pejeta. “His personality was just amazing and given his size, a lot of people were afraid of him. But there was nothing mean about him.”

Luckily, researchers were able to save some of Sudan’s genetic material in hopes of being able to reproduce the species with one of the two females left on the planet, those two being Sudan’s daughter and granddaughter.

The whole world and especially the people at Ol Pejeta are extremely upset to see the passing of the last male northern white rhino. Why was he the last of his kind? What does this say about poaching and the way the world responds to it?

Human beings need to protect endangered species before they disappear. Tigers, Blue Whales, and even Gorillas could be next according to www.allaboutwildlife.com.