Tinder welcomes a horny new member: A white Rhino

In a bid to save his species from extinction, the last known northern white rhino on the planet has ‘joined’ Tinder. The PR move is part of a joint project between the dating app and the Ol Pejeta Conservancy to raise $9m (£7m) for vital conservation efforts.

From today, users will see Sudan profile appear among their normal stack of potential dates. After swiping right on the rhino’s profile, they’ll receive a message with a link to donate.

Described by Tinder as “the most eligible bachelor in the world”, the 42-year-old rhino lives surrounded by armed guards at the Kenyan conservancy alongside two female rhinos called Najin and Fatu. They’ve been unable to breed for a number of reasons including old age, but there are 17,000 other potential female white rhinos to choose from.

The funds raised from Sudan’s Tinder adventure will go towards ongoing research into Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART).

The technology, including IVF, will be used to build up a herd of northern white rhinos to save Sudan and his species from extinction. If the project is a success, this will be the first time scientists have carried out artificial reproduction in rhinos.

In particular, zoologists have been developing a technique called ovum pick-up (OPU) on southern white rhinos, which involves collecting eggs from the females. Scientists are working on taking the experiment beyond the first stages of embryonic development. Experts are hopeful the same process can be used on the two female northern white rhinos, Najin and Fatu, in the coming months. Once fertilized, the embryos would be implanted into surrogate rhino females.

“This represents the last option to save the species after all previous breeding attempts proved futile,” said Ol Pejeta Conservancy CEO Richard Vigne. “Saving the northern white rhinos is critical if we are to, one day, reintroduce rhinos back into Central Africa.

“They contain unique genetic traits that confer upon them the ability to survive in this part of Africa. Ultimately, the aim will be to reintroduce a viable population of northern white rhino back into the wild which is where their true value will be realized”.

The research, which has already started at various institutions in the US, Germany and Japan aims to establish a herd of 10 northern white rhinos in five years.

“Financial support remains the biggest challenge to this project. To win this run against time, it is crucial to find major funds as quickly as possible,” said Steven Seet, Head of press and communications at the Leibniz-IZW which is part of the research consortium.