User:Sskerchief/Rhino
The recent death of Suci, one of the last two Sumatran rhinoceros in North America, has dampened conservation aid and threatens the future of the entire population.
With numbers barely reaching 100, the Sumatran rhinoceros is possibly the most endangered mammal on the planet. Once spanning a large portion of Southeast Asia, the species is now spread thin among only a few remaining areas, and may be impelled into inevitable extinction.
“Realistically, the odds are against us. This is gonna be a tough one to save,” said Dr. Terri Roth, the Vice President of Conservation and Science, and the director of CREW (conservation and research of endangered wildlife) at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.
Hoping to produce more rhinos in the United States, Dr. Roth and her team planned on breeding both Suci, a ten year old rhino, and her brother together as a last attempt to save the population of captive rhinos.
"We were hoping to produce another calf, for a number of different reasons. One is that the females do lose fertility over time if they don't get pregnant. So we thought even though were not doing a good genetic match, at least getting her pregnant would preserve her fertility. Although, we never got the opportunity to do that. " Dr. Roth said.
Dr. Roth spoke about the processes involved in breeding animals while in captivity on the University of Southern Indiana's campus Wednesday night. Informing over 100 students and animal enthusiasts about the many trials her team had experienced with wildlife and the Sumatran rhinos.
Having been partnered with Cincinnati Zoo's Conservation Committee since 1996, the team created a strategic plan that focused on a few specific projects that were committed to improving the protection, education, and propagation of wildlife species. The plan was concentrated on four signature animal conservation projects: small cats, exceptional plants, polar bears, and rhinos. Although Dr. Roth and her team focused on the four projects equally, she found most of her success through the Sumatran rhino.
The population of Sumatran rhinos is dwindling swiftly.Since 1985 the Sumatran rhino population had decreased by about half leaving only about 100 Sumatran rhinos worldwide with only 9 presently in captivity.
The U.S. collaborated with Indonesia to develop a captive breeding program in 1987 in order to preserve the dwindling species.
Through this project the U.S. received seven rhinos.
This particular species of Rhino is native to dense tropical forests and are generally solitary which posed challenges for breeding as they displayed violent behavior when caged together.
Roth specializes in animal reproductive physiology
She joined Cincinnati zoo in 1996 when the zoo director asked her to help their Sumatran Rhinos reproduce.
Suci, the ten-year-old female Sumatran rhino at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio, passed away on Sunday from hemochromatosis, a disease which involves too much iron in the system. Suci’s mother, Emi, the first rhino to breed in captivity in 112 years, also died in 2009 from the same disease. Emi gave birth to three Sumatran rhinos, Andalas in 2001, Suci in 2004, and Harpan in 2007. The Cincinnati Zoo was making preparations to attempt to inbreed Suci and Harpan as a desperate attempt to save the severely endangered species.
The death of Suci leaves only nine Sumatran rhinos in captivity: Gelogob (female, over 35 years old), Tam (male, over 20 years old), and Puntung (female, 10-12 years old) in Malaysia; Andalas (male, 13 years old), Andatu (male, 2 years old), Ratu (female, 15 years old), Rosa (female, unknown age), and Bina (female, 29 years old) in Sumatra; and Harpan (male, 6 years old) in Cincinnati, OH.
Sources[edit]
- Christine Dell'Amore. "One of World's Last Sumatran Rhinos Dies at Cincinnati Zoo" — National Geographic, March 31, 2014
- John Johnston. "Zoo's endangered female Sumatran rhino dies" — Cincinnati.com, March 31, 2014
- Press Release: *Wendy Bredhold. "Conservation leader to present Shaw Lecture" — University of Southern Indiana, March 17, 2014
- Elizabeth Kolbert. "Sex and the Single Rhino" — On Earth, March 10, 2014
- Cincinnati Zoo. "Cincinnati Zoo's Rhino Makes History With An Unprecedented Third Calf" — Science Daily, May 3, 2007
- Cincinatti Zoo. "Sumatran Rhino" — Accessed April 2, 2014
- Asian Rhino Project. "Adopt A Rhino" — Accessed April 2, 2014
- Yayasan Sime Darby. "Our Rhinos: Their Stories" — Accessed April 2, 2014
- Robin McKie. "Sumatran rhino's survival hopes ride on Puntung and Tam" — The Guardian, December 31, 2011