Ol Pejeta Conservancy , Kenya ( CNN ) At first glance , Sudan looks like any other northern white rhino : stout and agile , with square lips . He grazes under the hot sun , his massive head lowered to the ground , at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in central Kenya . When he 's not wallowing in his enclosure , he waddles around the sprawling savannah , stopping briefly to drink water from a concrete hole . But Sudan is not just any rhino . He 's the last known male northern white rhino left in the entire world . For an animal on the verge of extinction , the fate of the subspecies rests on his ability to conceive with the two female northern white rhinos at the conservancy . Sudan 's female companions , Fatu and Najin , live at the conservancy , where experts are scrambling to ensure the subspecies does not go extinct . The animals are under 24-hour protection by armed guards . Rhinos are targeted by poachers , fueled by the belief in Asia that their horns cure various ailments . Experts say the rhino horn is becoming more lucrative than drugs . In addition to round-the-clock security , the conservancy has put radio transmitters on the animals and dispatches incognito rangers into neighboring communities to gather intelligence on poaching . The conservancy is also raising funds to help equip and train rangers who guard the rhinos . At 42 , Sudan is elderly in rhino years . Fatu , 15 , is a spring chicken , while Najin is 25 . Though the three northern white rhinos are physiologically healthy , age might be a factor , says George Paul , the deputy veterinarian at the conservancy . `` Sudan is currently old and may not be able to naturally mount and mate with a female , '' he says . In addition , he has a low sperm count , which complicates natural and scientific efforts , experts say . Najin could conceive , but her hind legs are so weak , she may be unable to support a mounted male . `` There has been recorded mating between different pairs over the last few years , but not conceptions , '' Paul says . `` Based on a recent health examination conducted , both animals have a regular estrus cycle , but no conception has been recorded . '' And if one is not recorded soon , the beloved animal will go extinct . Rhinos on a plane : Life-saving mission across borders . In a race against time , international experts are resorting to science to try to sustain the subspecies . The northern white rhino can not mate with a black rhino , but there is a chance it could mate with a southern white rhino , Paul says . While southern white rhinos are not endangered -- Ol Pejeta has 19 -- they are a different subspecies from the northern white rhino genetically . Though the offspring would not be 100 % northern white rhino , it would be better than nothing , experts say . A committee at the conservancy is also looking at various alternative reproduction techniques , including in vitro fertilization . `` In other countries , success has been achieved with embryo transfer in a different rhino species , thus that , as a technique , can be presupposed to be the most promising , '' Paul says . `` However , consultations are ongoing amongst different reproductive technique experts on the way forward . '' Bringing rhinos back to Uganda , one calf at a time . The need to preserve the northern white rhino is dire . `` Realistically , we are looking at these animals dying in the next decade or so . But hopefully , using artificial methods of reproduction , we might be able to bring them back in the future , '' Paul says . `` This might mean that it will happen when the current animals are already deceased , but it could happen . '' The conservancy acquired the northern white rhinos -- two males and two females -- in 2009 from a zoo in the Czech Republic . Suni , the other male northern white rhino at the conservancy , died last year . In another incident , another male , Angalifu , died at the San Diego Zoo last year , bringing the subspecies closer to extinction . There are no known northern white rhinos left in the wild . A total of five remain in captivity worldwide : three in Kenya , and one each at zoos in San Diego and the Czech Republic . But Sudan , a male , is in a company of one . 11 wildlife experiences that could vanish in your lifetime .
Sudan is one of a handful of northern white rhinos left worldwide . The animals are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and have been listed as endangered since 2000. Experts are trying various ways , including in vitro fertilization .