The northern white rhino is in danger of going extinct as the sixth remaining member of the species died on Sunday, according to Sky News.
Officials from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in California announced that Angalifu, a male northern white rhino, died at the age of 44. Park authorities said the animal died of old age.
"Angalifu's death is a tremendous loss to all of us, Randy Rieches, the curator of the Safari Park said in a statement.
"Not only because he was well-beloved here at the park but also because his death brings this wonderful species one step closer to extinction," he added.
Currently, there are only five remaining northern white rhinos in the world. One elderly female resides in Czech Republic's Dvur Kralove Zoo while a male rhino named Sudan is in Kenya's Ol Pejeta Conservancy preserve, the Washington Post reported.
Sudan is accompanied by two females named Najin and Fatu. The two females were sent to Kenya to breed with Sudan but were not able to successfully do so.
The San Diego Zoo also has a female white rhino named Nola. However, like Sudan's case, Nola and Angalifu did not breed successfully.
Before the death of Angalifu, the Czech Republic had another male rhino called Suni. The animal, which zookeepers considered as the last male rhino capable of continuing the lineage of the species, died in October of this year, CNN has learned.
The five living rhinos, which are all living in captivity, are the last of their kind. The northern white rhinos living in the wild have been wiped out by poachers due to the high demand for their horns.
Following the death of Angalifu, conservationists from the San Diego Zoo are preparing to launch a last-ditch effort to save the northern white rhinos, according to LA Times.
Since natural breeding methods have failed, Rieches and his team are looking into artificial insemination. In this process, the conservationists will attempt to use Angalifu's frozen testicular tissue and semen to impregnate a female southern white rhino.
There are no details yet as to when the process will take place.
