At the age of 45, Sudan, the last remaining male white rhino, did not have much left in him in regards to repopulating his territory with new offspring. Sudan’s caretakers at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya did all they could to sustain such a giant and gentle species, but while he did leave behind a daughter, Najin, and granddaughter, Fatu, the last male white rhino died on March 19, yet another species virtually wiped off this Earth. 

The death of Sudan and his fellow white rhinos can be attributed to one cause: human intervention. Specifically, poaching white rhinos for their horns, which some claim to have ‘healing properties.’ This is false information, as “the horn is made out of keratin, the same material as our fingernails are made out of. There’s no evidence to suggest that the horn serves any medical function whatsoever,” said Moehrenschlager, director of conservation efforts at the Calgary Zoo. 

With Sudan’s death fresh in the minds of millions around the world, one cannot help but consider how many other species’ extinctions were essentially caused, or prompted, by mankind. “Unlike past mass extinctions…the current crisis is almost entirely caused by us — humans,” said a representative for the Center for Biological Diversity. “In fact, 99 percent of currently threatened species are at risk from human activities, primarily those driving habitat loss, introduction of exotic species and global warming.”

These mass extinctions are not only sad, but exceptionally concerning in how they reflect the amount of care and preservation humans treat the Earth. Clearly, it is not a lot. There are ways in which humans and native wildlife can live harmoniously, but it would require some changes from mankind. Policy change and a governmental shift toward the well-being of the planet would be a good place to start. 

“Last year, a number of congressional Republicans…considered a number of bills that would weaken Endangered Species Act protections,” said Miranda Green from The Hill. “The bills’ effects would include allowing the Fish and Wildlife Service to use economic costs to deny listing a species as threatened and remove the gray wolf from the endangered list.”

Every single ecosystem on Earth is delicate and sensitive in ways the human eye is not able to see. The decline of the ozone layer would never have happened if it was not for humans overuse of artificial chemicals known as chlorofluorocarbons. “Chemicals found mainly in spray aerosols heavily used by industrialized nations for much of the past 50 years, are the primary culprits in ozone layer breakdown,” according to National Geographic. When these CFCs reach the upper atmosphere, they react with the oxygen atoms in the ozone layer and rip apart the ozone molecules.

According to Biology Discussion, “an organism is always in the state of perfect balance with the environment.” In regards to Sudan and many other species that mankind forced to follow the same tragic path to extinction, it is time for mankind to wake up and realize something needs to be done. This is not just a sad passing of a beloved creature; it was absolutely preventable and we have the ability to do so. It is a wake-up call for humans to act and recognize that we share this Earth with those who were here before us.