The northern white rhinoceros is now on the brink of extinction following the death of Suni, a 34-year-old male living at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. He was the last male not considered to be too old to breed, and there are now only six northern white rhinos left on the planet. Suni was discovered dead in his boma (enclosure) on Friday, October 17. A statement from the Conservancy noted that he appears to have died of natural causes; not at the hands of poachers. An autopsy to determine the cause of death has been planned. Northern white rhinos are predicted to live about 40-50 years, but Suni’s father also died of natural causes in his mid-30s.

Suni was the first northern white rhino born in captivity in 1980 at the Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic. He and three others considered to be reproductively viable moved to Ol Pejeta in 2009, as it was believed that a more natural environment would make it easier for them to breed. At the time, there were only eight northern white rhinos, and conservationists were desperate to help save the subspecies. Sadly, the rhinos did not breed naturally, and even efforts to assist breeding were unable to yield a calf.

Northern white rhinos have had a historically small range after separating from the southern whites. They lived in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Chad, Central African Republic, Sudan, and Uganda.

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STORY:http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/rare-white-rhino-dies-threatening-subspecies-extinction