Last Northern White Rhino male recovering from life-threatening infection, as scientists push ahead with efforts to save breed

When Josef Vágner, head of the Dvůr Kralové Zoo, brought six Northern White Rhinos back from a trip to Sudan in the early 1970s he was criticized by the public for taking them from the wild. Now the zoo that he set up and the herd that was successfully bred there over the years may help to save the species that has been wiped off the face of the Earth by poachers. There are now three Northern White Rhinos left on the planet and all three belong to Dvůr Kralové Zoo and reside in a heavily guarded nature reserve in Kenya. Last week came the news that the last male was close to death due to a life-threatening infection. I asked Jan Stejskal head of the zoo’s special projects, to tell me how Sudan is faring at present.