White rhino Nola's death challenges us
Nola, a northern white rhinoceros, is shown at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, Calif., Dec. 31, 2014. Credit: AP
Nola died last week. She was a 41-year-old northern white rhino in a San Diego zoo. Her subspecies is now down to three members, all old, in a Kenyan preserve.
The impending extinction of the northern white rhino has happened before our eyes, and humans are the primary cause. In 55 years, the population was cut from 2,000 by poaching, civil wars and habitat loss. Scientists trying to revive the subspecies are working on in vitro fertilization using preserved eggs and sperm but it's a long shot. The loss is part of a mass extinction of animals and plants that is robbing Earth of its balance and diversity, and mankind of possible sources of drugs and supplements. It doesn't have to be this way. The southern white rhino, a close relative, faced extinction a century ago but now numbers some 20,000, thanks to conservation efforts. Miracles are possible, if we care.
