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(CNN) - A black rhinoceros, believed to be the oldest in the world, died in Tanzania at the age of 57.
Fausta passed away on Friday because of what is believed to be natural causes, according to the sanctuary where he had been living since 2016.
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"Records show that Fausta lived longer than any rhino in the world and survived in the Ngorongoro, in freedom, for more than 54 years," said Freddy Manongi, conservation commissioner for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, in a release.
Female black rhinos usually have their first offspring around age 7 and can reach 40 to 50 years, according to WWF. Fausta had no children.
It was previously believed that Sana, a white rhinoceros whose death in France at the age of 55 was known last month, was the oldest captive rhino in the world.
The Fausta sanctuary said it was discovered in the Ngorongoro crater, a conservation area in the north of the country, by a researcher in 1965, when he was three or four years old.
"His health began to deteriorate in 2016, when we were forced to put the animal in captivity," he said, adding that he suffered hyena attacks while living wild. Fausta had also lost her vision.
Black rhinos are critically endangered, but the number of individuals the species has increased in recent years after falling dramatically last century.
Last year, the last white rhino from the male north of the world, Sudan, died in Kenya.
rhinocerostanzania