Northern White Rhinos Are On the Brink Of Extinction

As of November 22nd, there are only three Northern White Rhinos left in the world.

Three.

Nola was the fourth known Northern White Rhino and has passed away. This brought newfound attention to the rapidly dwindling species. Nola, who was 41, was euthanized after contracting a bacterial infection and suffering “age-related health issues,” the New York Times reports. “Officials made the decision to euthanize her after her condition worsened overnight on Saturday.”

"The northern white rhinoceros is the most endangered animal on earth, according to the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy. Frequent civil wars and widespread poaching of rhinos in Africa, driven largely by demand in Asia for ground-up horns as an ingredient in medicine, has caused their numbers to plummet."

According to the charity Save the Rhino, the Southern White Rhino was was once on the “brink of extinction with only around 50 individuals left in the wild,” but due to conservation efforts, the population has since rebounded to about 20,400. Black Rhinos are slowly climbing back from a rock-bottom of just 2,480 in the wild.

The World Wildlife Foundation says reduced genetic diversity and disease could be contributing factors to why rhinos are in such peril, but a major issue is habitat loss.

“Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Sumatra is thought to have one of the largest populations of Sumatran rhinos, but it is losing forest cover due to conversion for coffee and rice by illegal settlers,” WWF writes on its website. “In southern Zimbabwe, privately owned rhino conservancies have been invaded by landless people. This reduces the amount of safe habitat for rhino populations and increases the risk of poaching and snaring.”

You can help by donating to orgs like Save the Rhino, Helping Rhinos and WWF.