+

A rare rhino's death means there's just 3 left on Earth — but there's hope.

Time is ticking on the fate of the northern white rhino.

On Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015, there were a total of four northern white rhinos on our planet.

On Sunday, Nov. 22, that number dropped to three.


RIP Nola. All images from San Diego Zoo Safari Park/YouTube.

Nola, a very rare and beloved rhino, died of an infection at the San Diego Zoo on Sunday.

The zoo had been her home since 1989.

"It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of Nola, a critically endangered northern white rhino who lived at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park," the zoo wrote on its Facebook page.

"This is a very difficult loss for the animal care staff who worked with her, our volunteers, guests, and to her species worldwide."

Nola's death puts her species in a very precarious situation — one that, sadly, could have been prevented.

As recently as the 1960s, there were more than 2,000 northern white rhinos living in the wild. But poaching and civil wars in their native habitat have led to the species' rapid decline. Today, the three surviving northern white rhinos are living in captivity at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.

The last male rhino, Sudan, is guarded by armed rangers 24 hours a day, seven days a week for protection.

That's how serious the threat against him is.

Scientists and conservationists are racing against time to prevent the northern white rhino from going extinct.

The chances of 42-year-old Sudan successfully mating are slim to none, which means scientists are getting extra science-y in considering assisted reproductive techniques.

The San Diego Zoo, where Nola lived, has a "Frozen Zoo" that has been preserving cell samples of these rare white rhinos. And Ol Pejeta in Kenya hopes to explore in vitro fertilization and an embryo transfer to help with reproduction. They've started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for it.

"The future of the species now depends on the success of assisted methods of reproductions as the surviving rhinos are not capable of mating," Ol Pejeta Conservancy said on Facebook.

Is it worth all this effort just to bring the northern white rhino population back up to four?

"We wish we could give you the ultimate answer," Ol Pejeta says. "But beyond sheer, inspirational beauty, the maintenance of global biodiversity and the chance to see wild rhinos roaming free in central Africa at some stage in the future, we can't."

Nola's death sparked the hashtag #Nola4ever, which reflects a similar sentiment.

"We all love Nola so much, and she will be missed immensely," said one Facebook commenter. "Thank you to those who took such great care of her and to those who continue to fight to end extinction."

Fighting to end extinction can have positive results — rhino species have bounced back from near-extinction extinction before. Southern white rhinos were once thought to be goners, but thanks to successful protection and management, over 20,000 of them exist today, according to the World Wildlife Fund. That's nothing to sneeze at.

Let's hope the northern white rhino will bounce back too. If you want to show support for the San Diego Zoo and help keep these special rhinos on our planet, you can get involved here.

Health

Relationship expert shares her advice on how to 'stop an argument in its tracks'

She has the perfect question to ask once your partner gets defensive.

Therapist Lauren Consul has one trick to stop arguments before they begin.

Arguments start to take off when one partner begins to get defensive. So, therapist Lauren Consul shared her relationship-saving tip to "stop an argument in its tracks" when one partner goes into self-preservation mode.

Lauren Consul is a couples and sex therapist who’s developed a following of nearly 160,000 people on TikTok and has received over 5.4 million likes. She is an infidelity expert and hosts retreats to help people "survive and thrive" after one partner has strayed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Democracy

A police officer makes a profound statement after pulling over a Black teen

The teen’s emotional response hit him like a punch to the gut.


“Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value."

In October 2016, that was a quote from Albert Einstein that sat atop the Facebook page of Tim McMillan, a police officer in Georgia.

McMillan become a sensation after a post he wrote on his Facebook wall went viral in 2016. In his post, he explains how he pulled over a Black teen for texting while driving:

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Owner of plus-size dress shop gifts $700 prom dress to 'shy' teen after watching her light up

Creating moments like these is why she opened her store in the first place.

@juicybodygoddess/TikTok

Elyse Monroe found the perfect dress, then found out it costs nothing.

Adolescence is a harrowing time for body image and self-esteem all around, but few milestones are as universally daunting as finding a prom dress. Whether it’s due to budget constraints, not being able to find a dress that fits, or both, what should be a fun event is often viscerally dreaded.

This was certainly the case for Summer Lucille. Lucille told Today.com that growing up, “if you weren’t skinny, there weren’t many options, and it was devastating for me because I’ve always loved fashion.”

She recalled, “I went to my prom looking like a church lady in a suit dress with a jacket because it was the only thing that fit. It was a very sad period in my life.”

Keep ReadingShow less
via Pexels

Childless people over 50 discuss their decision.

People who decide not to have children are often unfairly judged by those who chose a different life path. People with children can be especially judgmental to women who’ve decided to opt out of motherhood.

“You will regret it!” is one of the most common phrases lobbed at those who choose to remain childless. Why do people think they’ll have such awful regrets? Because they often say they’ll wind up “lonely and sad” when they’re older.

They also say that life without children is without purpose and that when the childless get older they’ll have no one to take care of them. One of the most patronizing critiques thrown at childless women is that they will never “feel complete” unless they have a child.

However, a lot of these critiques say more about the person doling them out than the person who decides to remain childless. Maybe, just maybe, their life is fulfilling enough without having to reproduce. Maybe, just maybe, they can have a life full of purpose without caring for any offspring.

Maybe the question should be: What’s lacking in your life that you need a child to feel complete?

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Dad's video sharing 'hardest part of co-parenting' has other separated parents relating

"I wish for peace and quiet, as does every parent when they’re overwhelmed. But then I hate it when I have it.”

@ainjole/TikTok

“Now I cherish every scream, every dirty hand print, and every spill.”

Very often, the right choice isn’t easy. Co-parenting is a prime example of this—no matter how amicable a break-up is, single parents inevitably lose time with their children after a divorce and must deal with the resulting loneliness that happens once the child leaves to spend time with the other parent. Knowing that you’ve made the right decision doesn’t necessarily take away the pain.

That’s why one dad’s video sharing his own experience of his child’s empty room is resonating with other single parents over on TikTok.

The dad, whose name appears to be Angel but goes by @ainjole on the platform, confessed in his video’s caption, “I think the hardest part of coparenting (for me) is dropping my daughter off with her mom and coming home to silence.”
Keep ReadingShow less
Science

Brazilian veterinarian gives parrot a second chance at life with a prosthetic beak

The parrot could not survive in the wild without its beak, which is used to build nests, fend off predators and eat.

Brazilian veterinarian gives parrot a second chance at life.

A parrot in Brazil got a lucky break when it was rescued after someone found it with a severely damaged beak. In fact, most of its little beak was completely gone. Birds use their hard beaks to eat, fend off other animals and build nests, and their mouths are essentially their hands while their feet are busy walking, scratching or holding twigs.

Plus, I don't know if you've paid much close attention to birds, but they don't seem to have a lot of dexterity with their tiny little bird legs. They sort of walk around like peg-legged pirates even though I'm pretty sure birds have knees. (I'm not a bird scientist or a zoologist if that wasn't clear.)

Luckily for this parrot, Renascer ACN, an animal rescue and rehabilitation facility in Planura, Brazil, had a doctor on staff who not only knows if birds have knees but also knew how to make a prosthetic beak.

Keep ReadingShow less