Countdown to extinction: only three northern white rhino now remain

One of the world’s last four remaining northern white rhinos died at San Diego Zoo over the weekend.

The San Diego Zoo announced that 41-year-old Nola, one of only four remaining northern white rhinos, had died. Image by San Diego Zoo Safari Park

The health of Nola, a 41-year-old female, had deteriorated after hip surgery and staff were forced to put her down on Sunday. The northern white rhino was declared extinct in the wild in 2008 after its population was decimated by poachers seeking their prized horns. The three remaining northern white rhinos are kept closely guarded at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Read more: bbc.co.uk