The last male northern white rhino in the world has died, but the efforts and hopes to save the subspecies from eradication lives on.

Sudan was the last male of his species due to poaching. Prior to his death he had been surrounded by armed guards 24 hours a day for a decade at the OI Pejeta Conservatory in Kenya.

Sudan died at age 45; An elderly age for a rhino. He had a daughter Najin who is 28 and even a granddaughter Fatu who is 17.

Sudan suffered from infections that come with age, in his last few weeks he had issues with his muscle and bones that left him unable to stand. Before he became ill he could not procreate due to low sperm count, and he had difficulty naturally mounting a female.

“There has been recorded mating between different pairs over the last few years, but not conceptions,” said George Paul, who is the deputy veterinarian at the OI Pejeta Conservatory. “Based on a recent health examination conducted, both animals have a regular estrus cycle, but no conception has been recorded.”

The worldwide population of northern white rhinos has fallen to four. There are now two remaining in Kenya, one in the United States and one in the Czech Republic. Sudan was the last male of his kind. There are no northern white rhinos known to be living in the wild and the surviving will spend their lives in captivity.

The southern white rhino looks like it is the only hope for conservation of the beloved northern white rhinos. Southern white rhinos are not endangered and it would be possible for a northern white rhino to conceive from a southern. Scientists at the OI Pejeta Conservatory are looking into vitro fertilization. There have been previous successes with embryo transfers in other species of rhinoceros. Some of Sudan’s genetic material was kept to hopefully artificially inseminate one of the four females left.

“A southern white rhino would be a surrogate and carry a northern white rhino embryo created in a lab from eggs harvested from Najin and Fatu, the last female northern white rhinos,” said Sarah V Schweig from The Dodo. “Sperm samples from now-deceased northern white rhinos are currently stored in Berlin, Germany, as a last-ditch effort to save the subspecies.”

It is assumed that there were millions of rhinos throughout Africa and Asia at one time, but now it is estimated that between all five species of rhinoceros only 30,00 remain due to vicious poaching. While the future of the rhino looks bleak, we can remain hopeful that scientists will be triumphant in conserving the species.