--- description: Nargis Fakhri describes what it means to see Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, dying—and the greater extinction crisis. title: Why This Picture of the Last Male Northern White Rhino Was One of the Most Important Photos of 2018 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4eceafbf03898a46/698941ad096a94f2ac6a433d/ami-vitale-rhino-top-10-photos-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [photography](/tag/photography/) ## photography Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why This Picture of the Last Male Northern White Rhino Was One of the Most Important Photos of 2018 ## Video: The World's Last Male Northern White Rhino Has Died [Watch (HLS stream): The World's Last Male Northern White Rhino Has Died](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/w62yrA00.m3u8) (1:42)  _Published 2018-03-20. The world’s last male northern white rhino has died, according to a Kenyan wildlife conservatory and anti-poaching NGO WildAid, spelling the likely extinction for the subspecies._ by [Nargis Fakhri](/author/nargis-fakhri/) ## Nargis Fakhri Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 20, 2018 4:25 PM CUT  Joseph Wachira, 26, comforts Sudan, the last male Northern White Rhino on the planet, moments before he passed away in March. Joseph Wachira, 26, comforts Sudan, the last male Northern White Rhino on the planet, moments before he passed away in March.Ami Vitale—National Geographic Creative by [Nargis Fakhri](/author/nargis-fakhri/) ## Nargis Fakhri Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 20, 2018 4:25 PM CUT On March 19, the world’s [last male northern white rhino](http://time.com/5209390/sudan-rhino-rhinoceros-northern-white/ "undefined") died. His name was Sudan, and he was beautiful. I met him in 2015, on a trip to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, where he would pass away. I was there to help bring awareness to the plight of the northern white rhino, and to help raise money to save them. When I met Sudan, I was in awe. I never could have imagined how beautiful he was. When I went to meet Sudan, I had been afraid of him—being aware that wild animals are unpredictable. But his presence was mighty and robust, yet tranquil. It seemed as if he had developed a close friendship with one of the caretakers. It was as if they could talk to each other. I felt so small and wondered how we are contributing to the demise of this brilliant beast and not working harder to save them. When I heard Sudan had [died](http://time.com/5206760/last-male-northern-white-rhino-kenya-died/ "undefined"), I felt like humanity had failed. A feeling of hopelessness took over, but despite that feeling, I am always willing to help in any way that I can. Sudan and his kind will now only live in photos like this one. One can dream that it will make even more people are becoming aware of how devastating and alarming the extinction crisis is, but I fear it is still not enough. Hopefully 2019 will bring us better news. _To see TIME’s top 10 photos of 2018, click_ [_here_](http://time.com/time-top-10-photos-of-2018/ "undefined")_. To see its top 100 photos, click_ [_here_](http://time.com/2018-photos/ "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5482842/time-top-10-photos-2018-sudan-northern-white-rhino/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5482842/time-top-10-photos-2018-sudan-northern-white-rhino/"},"headline":"Why This Picture of the Last Male Northern White Rhino Was One of the Most Important Photos of 2018","datePublished":"2018-12-20T16:25:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:29.781Z","description":"Nargis Fakhri explains what it was like to meet him—and the importance of the extinction crisis","url":"https://time.com/5482842/time-top-10-photos-2018-sudan-northern-white-rhino/","keywords":["photography","LightBox"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4eceafbf03898a46/698941ad096a94f2ac6a433d/ami-vitale-rhino-top-10-photos-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nargis Fakhri","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nargis-fakhri/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4eceafbf03898a46/698941ad096a94f2ac6a433d/ami-vitale-rhino-top-10-photos-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Top 10 Photos 2018","caption":"Joseph Wachira, 26, comforts Sudan, the last male Northern White Rhino on the planet, moments before he passed away","creditText":"Ami Vitale—National Geographic Creative","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/photography/","name":"photography"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5482842/time-top-10-photos-2018-sudan-northern-white-rhino/","name":"Why This Picture of the Last Male Northern White Rhino Was One of the Most Important Photos of 2018"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The World's Last Male Northern White Rhino Has Died","description":"The world’s last male northern white rhino has died, according to a Kenyan wildlife conservatory and anti-poaching NGO WildAid, spelling the likely extinction for the subspecies.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/w62yrA00/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-03-20T08:14:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/w62yrA00.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5482842/time-top-10-photos-2018-sudan-northern-white-rhino/","duration":"PT1M42S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5482842/time-top-10-photos-2018-sudan-northern-white-rhino/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```