A Northern White Rhinoceros at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya on 2010.
 
On December 20, 2009, four of the world’s last eight known surviving Northern White Rhinos were relocated from captivity back to the wild in a last bid to save them from extinction. The four rhinos, two males and two females, named Sudan, Suni, Fatu and Najin - were transferred by air from Dvur Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya. It is thought that the climatic, dietary and security conditions that the rhinos will enjoy at Ol Pejeta will provide them with higher chances of starting a population in what is seen as the very last lifeline for the species.
 
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Since 19 March 2018, there are only two known rhinos of this subspecies left, both of which are female; barring the existence of unknown or misclassified male northern white rhinos elsewhere in Africa, this makes the subspecies functionally extinct. 
 
According to the latest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assessment from 2020, the subspecies is considered "Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the Wild)."