最后的公白犀苏丹安乐死 摄影师哀悼：抱歉人类让你失望了
▲苏丹是世界上最后一只公北非白犀牛。（图／达志影像／美联社）
全球最后一只雄性北非白犀牛苏丹(Sudan)因健康因素被安乐死，享年45岁。摄影师Garth De Bruno Austin在IG上发文哀悼，代替全人类向苏丹道歉，「抱歉我们让你失望了，也对不起让子孙们再也无法看到这美丽的动物。」
肯亚佩杰塔野生动物保护区(Ol Pejeta Conservancy)稍早发布消息指出，「世界上最后一只公白犀牛苏丹于2018年3月19日死亡。」苏丹过世后，全球仅剩2只雌北白犀，分别是28岁的纳金(Najin)与牠17岁的女儿法图(Fatu)。
事实上，苏丹去年底时右腿伤口遭到感染，经治疗后逐渐痊愈，但后来又开始恶化，加上45岁高龄早已超出北白犀平均年龄，健康状况一直不是很理想。当时，佩杰塔野生动物保护区就难过表示，「牠在犀牛中太老了，我们不希望牠承受不必要的苦痛。」
苏丹离世消息传出后，摄影师Garth De Bruno Austin贴出一张苏丹和保育员的合照，并哀伤写道，「我们想代表人类向你说声抱歉。抱歉我们没有早一点为了保育白犀牛而奋战，抱歉我们以为多的是时间，抱歉我们让你失望了，也抱歉让子孙再无法看到这美丽动物漫步在非洲大草原。」
▲法图是现在仅存的2只北非白犀牛之一。（图／达志影像／美联社）
除了北白犀，所有种类的犀牛其实都受到盗猎威胁，不肖商人猎杀动物，只为了取得身上的犀牛角，再前往中国、越南等地贩售。根据英国保护慈善机构「拯救犀牛」(Save the Rhino)数据显示，过去10多年，有超过7245只非洲犀牛遭到猎杀。
世界野生动物基金会中，负责非洲野生动物保护工作的巴斯（Bas Huijbregts）提到，北白犀的栖息地包括刚果、南苏丹与中非共和国，这里常发生战乱、缺乏管理，牠们生活在最不稳定的地区里。
目前，各界正在探索各种措施来保护北白犀，圣地牙哥的「冷冻动物园」就拥有该物种的精液，有望利用体外人工受精的方式来复育北白犀。然而，巴斯提到，停止猎杀，才是真正的关键行为。
It is with great sadness that Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the Dvůr Králové Zoo announce that Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino, age 45, died at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya on March 19th, 2018 (yesterday). Sudan was being treated for age-related complications that led to degenerative changes in muscles and bones combined with extensive skin wounds. His condition worsened significantly in the last 24 hours; he was unable to stand up and was suffering a great deal. The veterinary team from the Dvůr Králové Zoo, Ol Pejeta and Kenya Wildlife Service made the decision to euthanize him. Sudan will be remembered for his unusually memorable life. In the 1970s, he escaped extinction of his kind in the wild when he was moved to Dvůr Králové Zoo. Throughout his existence, he significantly contributed to survival of his species as he sired two females. Additionally, his genetic material was collected yesterday and provides a hope for future attempts at reproduction of northern white rhinos through advanced cellular technologies. During his final years, Sudan came back to Africa and stole the heart of many with his dignity and strength. “We on Ol Pejeta are all saddened by Sudan’s death. He was a great ambassador for his species and will be remembered for the work he did to raise awareness globally of the plight facing not only rhinos, but also the many thousands of other species facing extinction as a result of unsustainable human activity. One day, his demise will hopefully be seen as a seminal moment for conservationists world wide,” said Richard Vigne, Ol Pejeta’s CEO. Unfortunately, Sudan’s death leaves just two female northern white rhinos on the planet; his daughter Najin and her daughter Fatu, who remain at Ol Pejeta. The only hope for the preservation of this subspecies now lies in developing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques using eggs from the two remaining females, stored northern white rhino semen from males and surrogate southern white rhino females. #SudanForever #RememberingSudan #Only2Left #MeAndSudan #NorthernWhiteRhinos #ExtinctionIsReal #OlPejetaRhinos #TheLoneBachelorGone #WorthMoreAlive
Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya（@olpejeta）分享的贴文 于 PDT 2018 年 3月 月 19 日 10:42 下午 张贴
RIP – A Message To Sudan Just like we know that our time in this world is limited, we knew that your days on earth would also come to an end. Still, when the message came through to say you were here no more, it was still somehow a surprise. We saw you only last month, sleeping in the shade, hiding away from the harsh midday sun. It was obvious that your time was coming to an end and even with the best medical attention, it showed us that no one can outrun death, not even being the last male of your kind. On behalf of humanity, we want to say sorry; Sorry for not fighting for your kind sooner, Sorry for thinking we had more time, Sorry we let you down and by that, sorry to the future generations of this planet who won’t be able to see your magnificent specie roaming Africa once again. @garthdbaustin #disunitythefilm #olpejeta #sudan #only2left
Garth De Bruno Austin（@garthdbaustin）分享的贴文 于 PDT 2018 年 3月 月 19 日 11:12 下午 张贴