A black rhino thought to be the oldest in the world has died in a Tanzanian conservation area, Tanzania’s famous wildlife park for rhino conservation at the age of 57, as confirmed by Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority.
Fausta, the female rhino believed to be died of natural causes on Friday evening in a sanctuary, after living 54 years in the wild, the state Conservation body said in a statement on Saturday.
It further added that Fausta was first located in the Ngorongoro crater in 1965 by a scientist, at the age of between three and four years. Her health started deteriorating from 2016, when the Authority was forced to put the animal in captivity, after several attacks from hyenas and severe wounds.
Sana 55, a female southern white rhino, was considered the world’s oldest white rhino when she died in captivity at the Planète Sauvage zoological park in France, in 2017.
The Ngorongoro conservation area presumes the life expectancy of rhinos are between 37 and 43 years in the wild, while they can live an extra decade when in captivity.
