The West African black rhino and the Vietnamese Javan rhino are fully extinct, and the northern white rhino is considered functionally extinct.

Quick Scoop: What rhino is extinct?

Several rhinos (or their subspecies) have sadly crossed the line into extinction.

Fully extinct rhino subspecies

  • West African black rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes)
    • Once found in parts of Central and West Africa.
* Declared extinct by the IUCN in 2011 after intensive surveys failed to find any surviving animals.
  • Vietnamese Javan rhino (a subspecies of Javan rhino)
    • Used to live in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and eastern Thailand.
* The last known individual in Vietnam was found shot with its horn removed in 2010, making this subspecies officially extinct.

These are the clearest answers if you’re asking “what rhino is extinct?” in terms of modern, recently lost rhinos.

“Functionally extinct”: the northern white rhino

  • Northern white rhino (subspecies of white rhino)
    • Once ranged across several Central and East African countries.
* Declared extinct in the wild in 2008; only a handful survived in captivity.

* Today, only two females (Najin and Fatu) remain under 24‑hour protection in Kenya, with no living males, so the subspecies is considered **functionally extinct**.

Scientists are trying advanced reproductive techniques (like IVF and embryo transfer into southern white rhino surrogates) to rescue the northern white rhino, but there are no guarantees.

Other rhinos: critically endangered, not extinct (yet)

  • Sumatran rhino , Javan rhino , and some black rhino subspecies are extremely close to extinction, with very small, fragmented populations, but are still hanging on in the wild under intense protection.
  • Conservation programs focus on anti‑poaching, habitat protection, and working with local communities so these species don’t follow the West African black and Vietnamese Javan rhinos into extinction.

In simple terms:

  • Extinct: West African black rhino, Vietnamese Javan rhino
  • Functionally extinct: northern white rhino
  • Critically endangered but still surviving: other living rhino species and subspecies.

TL;DR:
If you mean recent, modern rhinos, the West African black rhino and the Vietnamese Javan rhino are extinct, and the northern white rhino exists only as two protected females and is functionally extinct.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.