In March 2018, Sudan, the last male northern white rhinoceros, died in captivity at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, leaving only two females of the subspecies alive. Decades of poaching for horn and the loss of wild habitat had driven the population to functional extinction. His death prompted worldwide mourning and a wave of conservation poetry and elegiac writing, raising urgent questions about humanity's responsibility toward the species it has pushed to the edge of oblivion.

The last individuals of the Northern White Rhino in 2018 elicited last-of-kind elegies in global literature, with poets expressing grief and urgency. Their works often highlighted the consequences of extinction and the need for conservation efforts, serving as a poignant reminder of humanity's impact on biodiversity.