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Four of the world’s last known eight northern white rhinos landed in Kenya on Sunday and were transported to a game park where officials hope the endangered mammals will reproduce and save their subspecies.

The northern white rhino is the world’s rarest large mammal. No white rhinos are known to remain in the wild, and the animals transported on Sunday have produced no offspring after nearly 24 years in a Czech zoo. Wildlife workers are hoping to save the subspecies in what was once their savannah homeland.

When teams of Kenyan wildlife workers opened the animals’ transport crates on Sunday, two of the rhinos lingered several minutes before moving to a larger pen as Czech animals handlers coaxed them out with soothing words and treats. The other two exited immediately.

The rhinos’ handlers and park officials said they hoped the two females will bear as many young as possible for several years, but all involved acknowledged it was not a sure bet that the rhinos would reproduce. “Objective No. 1 is to get as many offspring as you can from the females — at least one calf out of each within two years,” said Rob Brett, director of Fauna and Flora International, which helped arrange and finance the move.

The rhinos were transported in large wooden crates by the international shipping company DHL on two flatbed trucks. On the side of the crates was written: “Last Chance to Survive.”

The four were flown to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy — about 300 kilometers north of the capital, Kenya — where a black rhino population has made strong gains and the rhinos will be protected from poachers. The aim of the project is to reintroduce the northern white rhino back to southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.



Associated Press