The last among un-equals

At Ol Pejeta, the great lonely beast passed away,

The 'last man standing' was a sad epithet on any given day.

In the great lands of Africa, his kind roamed in thousands,

But that was long back, a glory that was set for a sad end.

'Those horns can cure cancer' - the quacks claimed,

Poachers echoed in unison, for the profits to be gained.

Few torchbearers fought on behalf of the stricken animals,

A brutal battle for a lost cause, and the radicals trumped the rationals.

Thus a great sub-species had become a mere foot-note of history,

A long shot promise for revival, now a scientific mystery.

In an unforgiving world, 'Sudan' was never the first among equals,

A passing item of news-sites, he was merely 'The last among un-equals'

@
#16-7-16 ('Bhramara' Ground Floor), Saladi Jamindar Street, Palakollu (West Godavari), Andhra Pradesh
31st of March, 2018

The Last among Unequals (Poem) on 'Sudan' - the last male Northern White Rhino
On 19th of March, 2018 at Ol Pejeta Conservatory in Kenya, 'Sudan', the world's last male Northern White Rhino passed away at 43. Only two females are left living. The sub-species is slated for extinction, unless ongoing research on In-Vitro Fertilization techniques are successful. Rhinos face threats like Poaching because of alleged and unscientific importance of Rhino Horns in many traditional medicine systems & Man-animal conflict due to loss of habitat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan_(rhinoceros)
Picutre above -Michael Dalton-Smith or Digital Crossing Productions.