50 Percent

50% of an entire subspecies in a single image. Northern white rhino population: two. Two. Just two. It’s hard to fathom yet here we are, a subspecies that has, thanks to mankind, almost disappeared into the abyss. Human greed, both for rhino horn and land, has driven this beautiful animal to the precipice of ceasing to exist on Earth. What allows us, as fellow inhabitants of this planet, to strip away the rights of others to live alongside us? This story seems to repeat itself the world over, a constant battle between despair and hope, neglect and protection. Yet in this contest, we as humans are the only combatants, with the natural world the constant victim. The sense of enormity when staring extinction right in the viewfinder is difficult to comprehend. My goal was to give grace and dignity to an animal treated so poorly by humans. There’s something poetic about silhouettes in blue hour, the fine line between light and darkness. This rhino is treading that line every day. As for the northern white’s future? Time will tell. Scientists and conservationists are working on a surrogacy project with frozen embryos, with the hope of bringing them back from the brink. Until then, it’s my hope that Najin and Fatu — the last two remaining — continue to wander the savannah in peace.