Sudan made international headlines when Tinder named him the "most eligible bachelor in the world" in 2016. 

But the 45-year-old northern white rhino's luck appears to be running out - and if he dies, so too do many hopes for his subspecies' survival. 

Sudan is one of just three northern white rhinos still alive, and the only male of his kind. He lives in a Kenyan conservation centre along with the two females left of his subspecies, and conservationists say he is their last hope of saving it from extinction. 

Those hopes have now taken a tumble, with Sudan - who is old by rhino standards - struggling to recover from a leg infection which developed on top of an earlier infection.

His health has deteriorated to such an extent that his keepers are considering whether or not to put him to sleep. 

READ: Rhino hits Tinder in attempt to find mate

"Euthanasia will be explored if we feel he is suffering too much and won't recover," Ol Pejeta conservancy spokesperson Elodie A. Sampere told CNN. 

"Right now he is still feeding and walking around... albeit very little." 

As Sudan nears the end of his life, conservation experts are now looking into alternative reproduction techniques such as IVF treatment. 

Rhinos are often targeted by poachers, who are drawn to the creatures by the lucrative Asian market for alternative medicines made out of their horns.

All five species of rhino are at risk of extinction. The western black rhino was declared extinct seven years ago. Will the northern white rhino be next? 

 

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