Bring Them Back

In January 2024, while cycling across Africa as part of his world bicycle tour, Umano’s Director of Outreach and Community Engagement, Kamran Ali, visited Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya — home to the last two northern white rhinos — to document their extraordinary story.

For millions of years, rhinos have survived meteors, ice ages, and prehistoric predators… but they could not survive humanity. Today, only two northern white rhinos remain on planet Earth: Najin and Fatu, both females and unable to naturally reproduce. The last male, Sudan, died in 2018. The species is practically extinct. But this is not the end of their story. Scientists and conservationists are now working to reverse extinction itself.

Through groundbreaking IVF and stem-cell research, they have created 38 northern white rhino embryos — the future hope of this species. If successful, the world may welcome a northern white rhino calf within the next 2–3 years. This mission represents one of the most ambitious scientific conservation efforts in history. Yet a painful truth remains: a rhino is poached every 16 hours. The future of rhinos now depends on us — our choices, our actions, our humanity.