0:00:06 > 0:00:11This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Sudan, come on, boy.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27This is the remarkable story of an animal who survived
0:01:27 > 0:01:29the destruction of the rest of his species.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35He's travelled the globe from the open savannas of Africa, to a closed
0:01:35 > 0:01:37world behind the Iron Curtain.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Now as the very last male of his kind,
0:01:42 > 0:01:47he's become an unwitting celebrity in an astonishing modern-day fable.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50The whole story is not only about animals, but it's a story
0:01:50 > 0:01:52about our human nature.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56And the focus of a battle to save a species we pushed to the very
0:01:56 > 0:01:58brink of extinction.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01You look at that great big lumbering dinosaur and you think, hey,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04what did we do wrong? Why did we end up in this crazy situation?
0:02:20 > 0:02:24Sudan is inside a pen and we will maintain the right-hand side
0:02:24 > 0:02:28and we will avoid talking. We will talk when we come out of Sudan.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34So maybe one person at a time can have a chance
0:02:34 > 0:02:36to have a photo with Sudan.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41It's amazing for us to have him here.
0:02:41 > 0:02:42He's really popular.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47I mean, he's like a little star, you know, a Hollywood star.
0:02:47 > 0:02:48This is the last male.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51People of all over the world have written about him
0:02:51 > 0:02:53and people are coming here to film him,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55people are coming here to photograph him.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58We have a calendar for Sudan,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01because we don't want to have more than one film crew or one journalist
0:03:01 > 0:03:04coming to visit him during a day, because he needs to rest.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09He's got followers on Facebook, on Instagram, you know,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11he's got his own hash tag.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13So if you search for #LastMaleStanding on Twitter,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15you will see that he's quite popular.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18I would go as far as saying that he's the most popular
0:03:18 > 0:03:19rhino on the planet.
0:03:22 > 0:03:23A lot of people have heard about Sudan
0:03:23 > 0:03:27because of what's happening to the species.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28This is not a Kodak moment.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34It's a real shame that it's now that people are coming to see Sudan, but
0:03:34 > 0:03:37the bottom line is, people are interested in crisis, aren't they?
0:03:38 > 0:03:39And this is a crisis.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46Sudan's kind have roamed our planet for some 50 million years.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50He's a northern white rhino, a subspecies,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52once abundant in central Africa.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58But which today is on the edge of extinction with just three animals
0:03:58 > 0:04:04known to be alive. Sudan and his two female companions.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37This is a very big problem because how can you save a species which is
0:04:37 > 0:04:39already declared as extinct?
0:04:41 > 0:04:43That's why science has to come in.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49So everybody, welcome to this meeting.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51We are very, very privileged to have very,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54very expert people at this table.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58There are veterinarians here, there are reproductive experts here,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01there are conservationists here.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05I spent 22 years living with the northern white rhinos in the wild.
0:05:05 > 0:05:06Despite everything we've done,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08you know, we're down to,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11reduced to a small known number.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15It's terrible to have got to this stage.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19This meeting of experts, global experts,
0:05:19 > 0:05:25is going to try to find a way of introducing emerging technology
0:05:25 > 0:05:28into the northern white rhino rescue programme,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30which is extremely challenging.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34We're trying to find a way of making sure these animals
0:05:34 > 0:05:35continue to exist.
0:05:36 > 0:05:37We're racing against time,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41because there's only three animals left on the planet,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43of which only two are females.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47And Sudan is an old rhino. He could die tomorrow.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53This rhino lived for several millions of years on our planet.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Yeah, he looks quite active. Yeah.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58And it would still live another several millions,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01but the perversity of going for the horn
0:06:01 > 0:06:03brings them into this situation.
0:06:06 > 0:06:07And I think humans did that,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11and humans have the responsibility to correct it.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19The tale of how Sudan came to be the last male on the planet
0:06:19 > 0:06:22begins 40 years ago, when he was just a baby.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35There's no picture, photograph of Sudan as a baby.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38He was actually born in the South Sudan,
0:06:38 > 0:06:41in an area where there were not many people.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47But like all baby rhinos, he would have stuck close to his mother.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55When it was really hot, he might have been sheltering under her
0:06:55 > 0:06:59to be in the shade or they would both be sitting under a tree or,
0:06:59 > 0:07:00you know, by a bush.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06He'd be very close to her everywhere, going everywhere,
0:07:06 > 0:07:07very close with her.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13At his age, he would have been going between the grass but his mother
0:07:13 > 0:07:16would have been holding her head over the grass.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24And they call to each other, a little meow, meow, meow.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Little mews that rhinos call to each other as a contact call,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33so they don't get lost.
0:07:37 > 0:07:38It's the one time in a rhino's life
0:07:38 > 0:07:40when they are hugely vulnerable
0:07:40 > 0:07:44is when they're small. Probably the biggest threat are hyenas,
0:07:44 > 0:07:49number one. Number two, probably lion, and of course, human beings.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54That little fellow, all he wants to do is just be with his mum and he
0:07:54 > 0:07:55knows that's his only chance.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58If he gets separated from his mum, he's terribly stressed out.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Sudan was two years old.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09He was the youngest of the whole lot that we caught.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16It was the Chipperfield family's, sort of, brainstorm
0:08:16 > 0:08:18to start safari parks.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25And it was a new concept, totally new way of showing animals, wild
0:08:25 > 0:08:29animals. Longleat was the first one in the world
0:08:29 > 0:08:33and I happened to get a job there.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40Richard Chipperfield started setting up safari parks in many other
0:08:40 > 0:08:41countries in Europe.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45So obviously, he needed more and more animals.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53It was exhilarating.
0:08:53 > 0:08:54It was great fun.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56I enjoyed it.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01You roped the animals and then everybody grabs the animal
0:09:01 > 0:09:03from all angles.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08And then take it back to camp.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14You have to remember, in those days, there was SO much wildlife around.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Herds of thousands or more elephants.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20It was not uncommon at all.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25I don't think anybody sees that many elephants in one herd today.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31So it was like, sure, you take a few individuals to go to safari parks
0:09:31 > 0:09:36and people in Europe can see these animals and appreciate them.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42When the Chipperfields wanted someone to go out
0:09:42 > 0:09:47and join the capture team, I quickly volunteered and was accepted
0:09:47 > 0:09:51and within a few days, there I was in Africa.
0:09:56 > 0:10:03In 1974, Richard asked me to take some of our crew and go up to Shambe
0:10:03 > 0:10:05in South Sudan, because he had heard
0:10:05 > 0:10:08that there were northern white rhinos up there.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15In the years preceding Sudan's birth,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17a wave of heavy poaching dramatically reduced
0:10:17 > 0:10:21the number of northern white rhinos, driving the survivors
0:10:21 > 0:10:23into increasingly remote areas.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30Well, it was an adventure, because South Sudan was seriously primitive.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34This was quite a rare species
0:10:34 > 0:10:37and we had an actual order to catch six -
0:10:37 > 0:10:39two males and four females.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47We had to find the right sort of size.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52Something that is definitely weaned, but not too grown either.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56So that they were pretty easy to shape, you could say.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00They would tame down and adjust easier to a different life.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07When we went to catch it, the first job in the morning,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11I used to go up with a pilot and float around in the sky
0:11:11 > 0:11:14like a vulture and we'd fly round until we found the rhinos.
0:11:14 > 0:11:20And then, it was just a question of being able to get them on the move,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22nip in, steal one.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30My pole was going directly behind the animal's head, that's so
0:11:30 > 0:11:32he couldn't see me. Couldn't see my rope.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38It came to that split second and then I knew
0:11:38 > 0:11:40that all I'd got to do was that.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45I can remember catching Sudan.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49He put his head straight through my noose and...got him.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56I don't think I ever felt that I was doing wrong,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00but I suppose I couldn't help but have some sympathy.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05An animal's being taken away from the herd, or from mothers.
0:12:06 > 0:12:07It can't have been easy.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14Sounds crazy, but in a way, we were saving them
0:12:14 > 0:12:16from the risk of poaching.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22What would have happened to Sudan if you hadn't captured him?
0:12:23 > 0:12:24He'd be dead.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28For sure. A long time ago.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32They all would.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Annie stayed with the six rhinos, and then eventually,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43they moved them out from there and took them into Uganda
0:12:43 > 0:12:45and on the train down to Mombasa.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48Then they shipped from Mombasa to Europe.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54And then headed into the communist bloc to the Czech Republic.
0:12:54 > 0:12:55Czechoslovakia, as it was then.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06The rhinos were on actual order from Jo Vagner.
0:13:06 > 0:13:13He was a TV personality in Czechoslovakia as it was then.
0:13:13 > 0:13:19He had a weekly show about wildlife and he was the director
0:13:19 > 0:13:23for Dvur Kralove Zoo, collecting all sorts of various species.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38THEY ARGUE IN CZECH
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Oh, she will not talk English at all.
0:13:51 > 0:13:52This is Sudan.
0:13:52 > 0:13:58- Yes.- My father took six to Czech Republic, to Czechoslovakia.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00And actually, I remember my grandfather,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02whenever he had time, he came,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06he jump in this little corridor, I don't know how you say it,
0:14:06 > 0:14:11and he was talking to them. They always came.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13He whistled on them. He has his own special whistle.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15He whistled and they were far, far away.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17He whistled, and they came to him
0:14:17 > 0:14:20and he was just like patting them
0:14:20 > 0:14:22and telling them, everything will be all right.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24And they're in safe place in the world
0:14:24 > 0:14:27and it was a really touching story. Yeah.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32This is a white-lipped rhinoceros
0:14:32 > 0:14:34and it's got this wide mouth,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36because it eats lots of grass.
0:14:38 > 0:14:39We don't have a fence.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43It's much nicer when you can look them in the eyes.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Of course, there has to be some kind of protection, because otherwise,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48the rhinos could kill the visitors.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29- TRANSLATION:- Our aim is not only to display these animals.
0:16:29 > 0:16:30We want them to reproduce.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36I want these animals to survive in their new home so in the future,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39our nation's children will have the chance of coming
0:16:39 > 0:16:41face-to-face with them.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Don't get me wrong, certainly the folk who had the northern whites in
0:18:28 > 0:18:32captivity, you know, they're good people and they tried terribly hard
0:18:32 > 0:18:35to give them as natural an environment as possible.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39But unfortunately, they never could give them what they had in the wild.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43And that is one of the huge issues about what happened
0:18:43 > 0:18:45to the northern whites.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Well, this is a stained-glass window that's...Garamba.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13I wanted to put something here that was really Garamba.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16As you can see, there's a rhino at the bottom,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20the long grass and the blue is supposed to be the Garamba river,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24curving away and Mount Bagunda in the background.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28- Sort of a memorial? - Well, sort of, yes.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35I've been reliving so much of it.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39I just thought it was...
0:19:39 > 0:19:42a nice thing to have in one's house.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50It was at the end of the '70s.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54I started working in a rhino conservation.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00We found that northern white rhino populations were going downhill
0:20:00 > 0:20:02very rapidly.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Doctor Kes Hillman, a young zoologist,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07has been investigating the rhino slaughter in Africa.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11Kes, just how endangered are the rhinoceros at the moment?
0:20:11 > 0:20:13Well, some species of rhinos,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16there's only about a tenth of the numbers that there were in the past,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18so if anything desperate was to happen,
0:20:18 > 0:20:20the species could be wiped out.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25In Africa and Asia, the rhinoceros is being ruthlessly hunted
0:20:25 > 0:20:28and in some parts, it's in danger of extinction.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30And all because of its horn,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33which in many places is regarded as an aphrodisiac.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40All the countries where the northern white rhino unfortunately naturally
0:20:40 > 0:20:43occurred were incredibly unstable.
0:20:44 > 0:20:50And instability and civil war, etcetera, means increased poaching.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54And poaching, it makes money to keep the war going.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01Armed conflict across central Africa in the 1970s and early 1980s
0:21:01 > 0:21:03helped wipe out the northern white rhino population...
0:21:07 > 0:21:10..except for a small stronghold in the Garamba national park.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Garamba is 5,000 square kilometres.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20It's a long, narrow park up in the North
0:21:20 > 0:21:22of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27The remaining northern white rhinos in the world were living there.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29In March 1984,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33we were asked to come in to help to protect this precious population.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44When they first counted, there were about 14 rhinos left in Garamba.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48But clearly, enough to turn things around
0:21:48 > 0:21:51and get a nice population going.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Obviously, security is the most important issue.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04We started up law enforcement monitoring,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06training groups of guys from the local town.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12It was always a concern when you've got a very small population
0:22:12 > 0:22:16like that and they are in a relatively dangerous area,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19because there was still war going on in Sudan.
0:22:19 > 0:22:20It's a risk.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25But I believe it's really important to protect them
0:22:25 > 0:22:28in their natural habitat, rather than in zoos.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Because it's clearly a perfect habitat for them.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39The survival of the northern white rhinos was now dependent
0:22:39 > 0:22:43on the success of two tiny populations.
0:22:43 > 0:22:4715 who roamed free in Africa and seven kept behind the Iron Curtain
0:22:47 > 0:22:49in Czechoslovakia.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53- TRANSLATION:- It's pretty obvious that we can't leave it up to nature
0:23:53 > 0:23:55to make sure this species survives.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59There are so few of these animals left, we've got to step in and help.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49- TRANSLATION:- Here in chilly Czechoslovakia,
0:24:49 > 0:24:52we're breeding these tropical African animals.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57Our zoo is famous because it's one of the few zoos around the world
0:24:57 > 0:25:00involved in reproducing these rare rhinos.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Well, I guess by the early '90s,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03Kes and her team had stabilised the situation.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07The rhino were breeding up nicely.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Population increasing, and I think she was now comfortable to say,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13"Let's get to know a bit more about these rhinos."
0:27:20 > 0:27:24In Garamba, I was trying to observe the northern white rhinos' natural
0:27:24 > 0:27:30behaviour and you were trying to understand what makes a population
0:27:30 > 0:27:33survive and grow under natural conditions.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45What I found was that like with every African rhino species,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49the dominant males fight for and hold a territory
0:27:49 > 0:27:52and they defend that against other dominant males.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57And you would get fighting between males at that stage.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02With all rhino, the dominant male basically,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05he's got to strut his stuff, hold his area.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13All of this competition is terribly important to fire them up.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17Their testosterone levels are up and they're good for breeding.
0:28:20 > 0:28:25The males will leave dung and urinate around their territory,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28so another male coming in will think, "Oh, dear.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34"He's here. I'd better stay away or I'd better be wary or..."
0:28:34 > 0:28:35And a female would, "Woo hoo!
0:28:35 > 0:28:38"He's here!", you know, "Let's go in there."
0:28:49 > 0:28:51In Garamba, it was just a very healthy situation
0:28:51 > 0:28:54and they were just producing babies all the time.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58That was wonderful. Whenever you see, you know, see a new calf,
0:28:58 > 0:29:00"Oh, so-and-so's had a baby!", you know,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03and we'd decide what we were going to call it.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09Kes was hugely successful.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12These animals were now safe in Garamba.
0:29:12 > 0:29:13You know, this is where they had evolved.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16This is where they had always, you know, done well.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18You know, the white rhinos were in paradise.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24By the mid-1990s,
0:29:24 > 0:29:28the rhino population in Garamba had more than doubled to 31.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32In captivity, there had been three births.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34But also two deaths.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38And as Cold War tensions eased, three were lent to San Diego zoo
0:29:38 > 0:29:41in the hope that they would breed there.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46In 12 years, the rhinos in Garamba had doubled
0:29:46 > 0:29:49and the rhinos in captivity weren't doing so well.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54You know, they were in concrete enclosures and of course,
0:29:54 > 0:29:58they would be leaving dung in those areas and then going back
0:29:58 > 0:30:02and another one would be coming out, and so, it was quite confusing
0:30:02 > 0:30:04for the rhinos.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08They seemed to develop the most peculiar shaped horns,
0:30:08 > 0:30:10because they can't rub them in the same way
0:30:10 > 0:30:12that they do in the wild.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16It's a very unnatural situation for them.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25- TRANSLATION:- I'm no longer very optimistic.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27They're just vegetating here.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30They're living in conditions which look good
0:30:30 > 0:30:34but don't provide for their biological needs.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39By that stage, Sudan had spent almost 20 years in captivity.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43Who knows what went on in his mind, we'll never know.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51Physiologically, I think there must be something negative happening,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54something, you know, less than perfect.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58It must have taken a long time to make peace with his different
0:30:58 > 0:31:00environment he's in.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05You can imagine, it was clearly a very difficult situation.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08As the numbers of northern whites became less and less,
0:34:08 > 0:34:12these animals became more of a valuable drawcard for the zoo.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16I'm just saying it's a possibility that folk might have hung on to them
0:34:16 > 0:34:18longer than they should have,
0:34:18 > 0:34:20because they knew people were fascinated.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22"Let's go and have a look at them before they're all gone."
0:34:24 > 0:34:28Keeping the rhinos in zoos is not totally natural,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31but on the other hand, it's important for people...
0:34:32 > 0:34:36You know, in the West to be able to see these animals and to realise the
0:34:36 > 0:34:42importance of conserving them in the wild and as we now see,
0:34:42 > 0:34:46they're are an important back-up, because, you know,
0:34:46 > 0:34:48you can't always predict what's going to happen in Africa.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52THUNDER RUMBLES
0:34:52 > 0:34:54- REPORTER #1:- Congo is sliding ever deeper into chaos.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56- REPORTER #2:- The Sudanese government
0:34:56 > 0:34:58says it's putting down a rebellion in Darfur.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01There is fighting on the streets of Kinshasa tonight,
0:35:01 > 0:35:03and this war could spread across central Africa.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12Kes had no illusions about, you know, the potential
0:35:12 > 0:35:14for instability in Garamba.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18She knew that it had always been a very unstable part of Africa,
0:35:18 > 0:35:20so anything could happen, and yes, anything did happen.
0:35:23 > 0:35:28In 2004, we suddenly detected these groups of horsemen.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33These guys are actually a sort of mix of tribes,
0:35:33 > 0:35:35but generally known as the Umberoro.
0:35:35 > 0:35:40And they are age-old elephant hunters from Sudan...
0:35:42 > 0:35:44..but the war had changed things.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49They're now armed with AK-47s and rocket launchers and hand grenades.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59We set up observation posts on hills and reinforcement posts.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06But still they were sort of advancing towards
0:36:06 > 0:36:08the elephant and rhino areas.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12One day, I was, I happened to be in the radio room,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15and they suddenly started calling on the radio about...
0:36:15 > 0:36:16"Cheval, cheval!"
0:36:16 > 0:36:18There were horses in the park.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27We jumped into the plane and flew out over that area.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32We flew along the Aka Garamba River.
0:36:35 > 0:36:42We found a couple of guys on horseback and a trail of donkeys,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45loaded with what was probably ivory and rhino horn.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54When we went back and we surveyed the area where they'd been,
0:36:54 > 0:36:57it was just a devastation of rhinos massacred everywhere.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02It was a real, huge massacre.
0:37:03 > 0:37:09There was a nine-year-old female, who was killed just down here.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13You know, she'd had her horn absolutely hacked off at the front.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16You know, and she was quite young.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19She was a perfect, reproductive age female.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21You know, it was a real tragedy.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24It is every time that you find them dead.
0:37:35 > 0:37:40Later on, any rhino skulls that were found were brought in and we,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44you know, identified them for sure.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48We did a survey in July that year
0:37:48 > 0:37:53and we could only find 14 rhinos
0:37:53 > 0:37:55at that stage in the park.
0:37:57 > 0:38:02By December, I did another survey and could only find nine rhinos.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07And then, in 2008, they didn't actually see any.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14We didn't quite get it right in Garamba.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19I know that we did the best we could,
0:38:19 > 0:38:24that circumstances that were not usually conservation issues,
0:38:24 > 0:38:29they were political and power issues, were what,
0:38:29 > 0:38:32generally, caused the problems.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35And that's so often, so often the case.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41It's been the story across Africa in the last 30, 40 years,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44how our wildlife populations have been decimated
0:38:44 > 0:38:46as a result of political instability.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48And they were all killed?
0:38:50 > 0:38:53They were all killed. There are no northern white rhino
0:38:53 > 0:38:56left in Garamba. That's for sure.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10My predecessors spent about 40 years trying
0:39:10 > 0:39:15to keep the northern white rhinos alive and, you know,
0:39:15 > 0:39:18to give them the best possible conditions for breeding.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21But it's difficult to change
0:39:21 > 0:39:23decisions that were made in the past.
0:39:23 > 0:39:28But today, it's obvious that we still feel responsibility for them.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33Now we are in the basement of a zoo.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41And as we enter into archive, we have a library here.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46And we have diaries, in which we wrote all the main things
0:39:46 > 0:39:49that happened to animals that we breed here.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54From 1975 to 2009,
0:39:54 > 0:39:56Sudan's life is here.
0:40:00 > 0:40:07By 2009, the situation in the zoo was like, I wouldn't say desperate,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10but people believed it would be good to do something,
0:40:10 > 0:40:12to try something else.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Time was running out, you know.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22These are five animals in captivity,
0:40:22 > 0:40:24who are now some of the last representatives
0:40:24 > 0:40:26of this subspecies, in the world.
0:40:28 > 0:40:33But it was sort of my idea to see if putting the four most healthy ones
0:40:33 > 0:40:36back in a natural environment would improve their breeding.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38We just had to get them out and give them a go.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55I was there when Sudan walked out of his crate
0:41:55 > 0:41:57and put his foot on African soil for the first time in 30 years.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00Yeah, it was a pretty extraordinary experience.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22The keeper's from the Czech Republic.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24He had this sort of crazy Czech language, you know,
0:42:24 > 0:42:27and the keeper's talking to them and, hey, somewhere along the line,
0:42:27 > 0:42:30I guess Sudan had learned Czech!
0:42:34 > 0:42:37You could just see happy rhinos.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39You could see definitely an improvement in their health,
0:42:39 > 0:42:41their whole sort of demeanour.
0:42:41 > 0:42:46They had more freedom and loved the climate here and things were looking
0:42:46 > 0:42:48very positive. We might just have pulled it off.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56So a lot of things changed for the better and gave us hope that this
0:42:56 > 0:42:59process of bringing them back to Africa was going to result
0:42:59 > 0:43:02in not only mating activity, but successful pregnancies.
0:43:04 > 0:43:05They started mating pretty quickly.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09Now, the problem was, when mating activity happened,
0:43:09 > 0:43:11it never resulted in a pregnancy.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16It was then that we started looking more closely at the reasons why.
0:43:27 > 0:43:32We work with elephants, tigers, lions, giant panda, octopus.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37The main goal of our activities is to understand
0:43:37 > 0:43:42reproduction in wildlife, especially in endangered species.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48Two years ago, they brought our team in
0:43:48 > 0:43:53to examine the two remaining females in Ol Pejeta.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55We did ultrasound examination.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59We found dramatic pathological changes on them.
0:43:59 > 0:44:05We found that if there is no ongoing reproduction,
0:44:05 > 0:44:10then it has a negative impact on the ovaries, the uterus,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13these females already shut down their reproduction.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15They were not more reproductively active.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20Sadly, the truth of the matter is,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22because the females hadn't bred for such a long period
0:44:22 > 0:44:26in zoo conditions, they were now no longer able to conceive.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30By the time this discovery was made,
0:44:30 > 0:44:34the remaining captive rhinos in San Diego and the Czech Republic
0:44:34 > 0:44:35had all died.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40And in Ol Pejeta, one of the four rhinos who had returned
0:44:40 > 0:44:42died suddenly of a heart attack.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47The world population now stood at just three.
0:44:49 > 0:44:50Hello, big boy.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53Hello, big boy.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56Hello, big boy.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58Hello, big fella.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00Hello, big fella.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04Hello, big chap.
0:45:04 > 0:45:05Hello, fella.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28Hello, big fella.
0:45:30 > 0:45:31Hello, big chappy chap.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34Hello, boy. Hello, boy.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40Maybe having some small dreams of when he was a little fellow
0:45:40 > 0:45:42in Sudan all those years ago.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48He's definitely a bit more rickety on his legs.
0:45:48 > 0:45:50He's definitely a bit more frail.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52He struggles to get up in the morning.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55His back leg hurts him, so you know, yeah, he's an old man.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59We have to expect that he will die sometime soon.
0:46:02 > 0:46:07I'm just afraid now, if the other leg starts to become weak,
0:46:07 > 0:46:11the right leg becomes weak, we've got a problem.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15Either what will happen is he'll have a heart attack
0:46:15 > 0:46:19and he'll fall over, dead, or he will...
0:46:19 > 0:46:21If he gets into a position where he can't move,
0:46:21 > 0:46:24which brings lots of complications for big-bodied animals,
0:46:24 > 0:46:26then eventually, you'd have to think of euthanasia.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28You'd have to put him out of his misery
0:46:28 > 0:46:29just like you would do an old dog.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35But the truth is, even if Sudan dies, we can still save the species.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40And it's morally incumbent upon us to try to make this happen.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59These are especially protected cryo containers,
0:46:59 > 0:47:01which have an alarm system which calls us
0:47:01 > 0:47:03when something is going wrong.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12And in here are the samples from the different rhinos.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18It is really the backbone of the programme.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23That's sperm samples.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25We have to have a quick look.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28That straw is where the sperm is stored.
0:47:28 > 0:47:33We have samples here from northern white rhinos which are all dead.
0:47:33 > 0:47:38And we also have samples from Sudan in Ol Pejeta,
0:47:38 > 0:47:41and that makes four males which we can use
0:47:41 > 0:47:45for the in vitro fertilisation programme.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49There is no way that these animals can reproduce natural wise.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53The only way to help would be to use science.
0:47:53 > 0:47:55They advance the product of science.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01Although there's plenty of sperm stored in Berlin,
0:48:01 > 0:48:04the scientist will also need eggs
0:48:04 > 0:48:07from the two remaining females in Ol Pejeta.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10They plan to harvest these eggs, known as oocytes,
0:48:10 > 0:48:15fertilise them with northern white rhino sperm,
0:48:15 > 0:48:18and transfer the embryos into a herd of surrogates.
0:48:18 > 0:48:23The closely related, but less threatened, southern white rhinos.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29The resulting calves could form the basis for a new generation
0:48:29 > 0:48:32of northern white rhinos.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38In vitro fertilisation in cattle and horses is a regular occurrence.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41The problem is, it's never actually been done
0:48:41 > 0:48:43in rhinos as a species.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46This process has to be perfected
0:48:46 > 0:48:49before the last remaining females die.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53If those females die tomorrow, which could happen for whatever reason,
0:48:53 > 0:48:57then the last remaining repository of northern white rhino eggs
0:48:57 > 0:48:59would be lost.
0:49:03 > 0:49:09We have to act very quickly, because Najin is already 26 and Fatu is 15,
0:49:09 > 0:49:14so the biological clock and the time window we can be successful,
0:49:14 > 0:49:15it's very short.
0:49:17 > 0:49:22It's quite a big burden when you do something new that you can't fear,
0:49:22 > 0:49:25but, in this case...
0:49:27 > 0:49:28..no failure allowed.
0:49:43 > 0:49:44That's the female we do.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49Before they act as surrogates for the northern white,
0:49:49 > 0:49:51captive southern white rhinos have another role to play.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56IVF has never been successfully carried out on rhinos before,
0:49:56 > 0:50:00so the scientists will practise on this closely-related sub species.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04In any other animal, this procedure's pretty straightforward,
0:50:04 > 0:50:07but a rhino being so large and long and, it needs all
0:50:07 > 0:50:12these special equipment which makes the whole procedure
0:50:12 > 0:50:13very, very difficult.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18A two-tonne animal is challenging.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21Now it's a very long distance, we can't reach always with the hand.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26Therefore, we have to go 1.5 metres inside and that's impossible to do
0:50:26 > 0:50:31it via the vagina approach, which is the standard procedure in humans,
0:50:31 > 0:50:34cattle and horses. We have to go through the rectum.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37Carla is her name.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39Do you think that she's nervous?
0:50:39 > 0:50:41Oh, I think we are more nervous!
0:51:04 > 0:51:06I see the obstacles. I am not stupid.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10I'm a scientist. There are a lot of still unsolved problems.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14But we have a species here which is nearly extinct
0:51:14 > 0:51:16due to human activity,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19and we have, maybe, the tools in our hands to stop that.
0:51:22 > 0:51:27We take the mounted ultrasound probe about a metre inside the animal and
0:51:27 > 0:51:28then inside the animal,
0:51:28 > 0:51:32you have to find the ovary and then hold it at the right position
0:51:32 > 0:51:35for Thomas to go with the needle into the ovary,
0:51:35 > 0:51:37aspirating the oocyte out.
0:51:39 > 0:51:45It's a lot of effort, a lot of time and also money and resources but
0:51:45 > 0:51:47there's not many other options.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51If we operate, there's our needle very close
0:51:51 > 0:51:53to a very large blood vessel.
0:51:56 > 0:52:00And if we puncture that, then we would lose the patient.
0:52:03 > 0:52:04Good.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13So far, so good. The whole procedure went really well.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16We aspirated the oocytes, hopefully,
0:52:16 > 0:52:19and Thomas is trying to find them at the moment under the microscope.
0:52:23 > 0:52:24Yeah.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31We found six oocytes.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34I lost one, so we have five oocytes.
0:52:34 > 0:52:39We'll send them off to a lab and then they add the sperm,
0:52:39 > 0:52:41they inject the sperm.
0:52:41 > 0:52:43- OK.- And we'll know more in about three days,
0:52:43 > 0:52:45whether this works or not.
0:52:53 > 0:52:54OK.
0:52:55 > 0:53:01If we can prove that this procedure is not doing harm to animals,
0:53:01 > 0:53:03and we are capable to produce embryos out of that...
0:53:05 > 0:53:09..then we would test that on Fatu and Najin.
0:53:09 > 0:53:10Cheers. Cheers.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15The rhinos' eggs are couriered nearly 800 miles
0:53:15 > 0:53:18to a specialist lab in northern Italy.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24There, after they are fertilised, they should begin dividing.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32Within days, they'll grow into a bundle of cells
0:53:32 > 0:53:34known as a blastocyst.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38Only if they reach this stage have they got a good chance
0:53:38 > 0:53:40of becoming a healthy baby rhino.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52Science is characterised by failures.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55By successes, but also by failures.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59We are quite disappointed about this outcome.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03One of the oocytes developed into an embryo,
0:54:03 > 0:54:07but at a very early stage, it stopped.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11We have a problem with the whole development of the blastocyst.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20The failure to produce a viable rhino embryo
0:54:20 > 0:54:23means the scientists have had to recruit more southern whites
0:54:23 > 0:54:25from zoos across Europe to practise on.
0:54:31 > 0:54:32We are close.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34We are not there, but we are close.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37We made a lot of progress over the last months.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40But science is not predictable.
0:54:41 > 0:54:46We can't say at the end, we will be for sure successful.
0:54:46 > 0:54:47We can't.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52We now know that we have the power to destroy the rhinos.
0:54:54 > 0:54:59What we try to do now is actually to see whether we have the power
0:54:59 > 0:55:01to save them.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06We have to accept that we might fail.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24The day Sudan goes, it's going to be, it's going to be hectic,
0:55:24 > 0:55:29you know, in terms of media and people are going to want pictures
0:55:29 > 0:55:31and they're going to want to write about him and stuff like that,
0:55:31 > 0:55:33so I'm afraid to say that we are ready.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36We've got a press release ready, just for the day he goes,
0:55:36 > 0:55:38just because we need to be, you know.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41I don't know if the zoo is going to want his bones back, to be honest,
0:55:41 > 0:55:43because, you know, in the end, he's their animal.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47And if we are not allowed to keep his bones,
0:55:47 > 0:55:49then we would definitely put a headstone for him
0:55:49 > 0:55:50at the rhino cemetery.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38In an ideal world, we wouldn't need
0:56:38 > 0:56:41to try to save the northern white rhinos.
0:56:41 > 0:56:42Sudan.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45The breeding programme in Czechoslovakia,
0:56:45 > 0:56:48it would have been really successful, you know,
0:56:48 > 0:56:50they would flourish in the central Africa.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52They would roam the large savannas there.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56Unfortunately, this didn't happen
0:56:56 > 0:56:59and it's only due to human activities.
0:57:14 > 0:57:18I think this dilemma we're going to face more and more in the years to
0:57:18 > 0:57:22come, you know, there are, with so many species just, you know,
0:57:22 > 0:57:26tiny populations left and would it be best to put them in captivity
0:57:26 > 0:57:29or best to take their chances in the wild?
0:57:30 > 0:57:34There are some species which have done extremely well in captivity,
0:57:34 > 0:57:38but I think we understand now that some animals just don't do very well
0:57:38 > 0:57:41in a zoo environment, that they probably shouldn't be there.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44You know, safety from being poached...
0:57:45 > 0:57:51..but not breeding, ultimately, it's as lethal, essentially,
0:57:51 > 0:57:54as having them in the wild, with the threat of poaching.
0:57:57 > 0:58:01The northern white rhinos are just a symbol of what we do to the natural
0:58:01 > 0:58:04world. It's very visible with the northern white rhinos,
0:58:04 > 0:58:08because we witnessed the last three animals and we witness,
0:58:08 > 0:58:11you know, they're disappearing, actually, in front of our eyes.
0:58:12 > 0:58:16But there are many, many other species disappearing
0:58:16 > 0:58:18but we cannot see it so clearly, like we see it
0:58:18 > 0:58:20with the northern white rhinos.
0:58:34 > 0:58:37# Oh, nobody loves the rhinoceros much
0:58:37 > 0:58:40# If you ask the reason why
0:58:40 > 0:58:43# They will tell you because of his scaly touch
0:58:43 > 0:58:45# Or his hard and glittering eye
0:58:45 > 0:58:48# But should you ask a truthful man
0:58:48 > 0:58:51# You will get this quick response
0:58:51 > 0:58:54# I do not trust that thing on his nose
0:58:54 > 0:58:56# The bodger on his bonce!
0:58:56 > 0:58:59# Oh, the bodger on the bonce!
0:58:59 > 0:59:02# The bodger on the bonce!
0:59:02 > 0:59:05# Oh, pity the poor old rhino with
0:59:05 > 0:59:07# The bodger on the bonce! #