As the world's northern white rhino population teeters on the edge of extinction, rangers at a conservancy in Kenya have taken up guarding one male rhino 24 hours a day to protect it from poachers, Grind TV reported.
The 40-year-old rhino, named Sudan, is the last male of its species and the last hope wildlife experts have of reviving the northern white rhino - of which there are a total of five left in the world.
At the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Sudan is protected around the clock by 40 armed rangers that patrol the 90,000-acre preservation. He's also fitted with a radio transmitter for extra security, Grind TV reported.
The guards, however, make sure to give the animals their space.
"We try and let our rhinos be 'wild' as much as possible without human interaction," Eldoi Sampere of the conservancy told Grind TV.
Once having a population of more than 2,000, the northern white rhino was hunted relentlessly from 1960 until 1980 when there were just 15 left. Poachers go after their horns due to high demand in Asia, where rhino horns are seen as a cure for ailments.
Sudan's own horn was removed to decrease the temptation.
"The only reason his horn has been cut off is to deter poachers," Sampere told The Dodo. "If the rhino has no horn, he is of no interest to poachers. This is purely to keep him safe."
There were six of the rhinos left until December 2014 when a 44-year-old white rhino named Angalifu died at a California zoo.
Sudan and three northern white rhinos - a male and two females - were originally brought to Kenya from the Czech Republic in 2009 in order to breed them, according to Grind TV.
But attempts have been unsuccessful, and with the death of the other male in October, the focus has now shifted to keeping Sudan alive.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to help the rangers protect the rhino.
