Black Rhinoceros Moves from Columbus to Cincinnati
Media Alert: Thursday, June 11, 2009
Contact:
Patty Peters
Associate Zoo Director Community Relations
(614) 645-3411
Patty.Peters@columbuszoo.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2009
Powell, OH – A seven-year-old African black rhinoceros, Klyde, was moved to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens yesterday as part of an international Species Survival Plan recommendation. Klyde was born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on January 2, 2002 where his parents, Kulinda and Kijito, still reside.
Columbus Zoo animal care staff worked for months training Klyde to enter a large crate on his own so the move could be made without sedation. Klyde was transported by truck to Cincinnati accompanied by the Zoo’s chief veterinarian and pachyderm head keeper and spent the night in his new home. Klyde will spend several days getting accustomed to his new surroundings and getting to know the Cincinnati Zoo animal care staff before being introduced to zoo visitors.
The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) is critically endangered with 118 being managed by the Species Survival Plan. As recently as 1970, an estimated 65,000 black rhinos could be found throughout sub-Saharan Africa but in eastern Africa 90 percent of them were killed in the 1970s. Now there are fewer than 3,000 left, mostly in protected parks in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania. The biggest threat to rhinos is poachers who kill them for their horn which is used for traditional Chinese medicine and cultural reasons. All five species of rhinoceros are perilously close to extinction in the wild.
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a long-term supporter of conservation for all species of rhinos and is a founding member of the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) – an organization dedicated to rhino protection through programs in zoos and in the wild. The Zoo is also a supporting institution for the International Rhino Keeper Association (IRKA) – with a staff member serving as president of the organization.
Individual conservation efforts in Asia and Africa receive support through the Zoo’s Conservation Grants Program. Recent projects funded by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium include:
· Sumatran Rhino Conservation and Propagation – Indonesia
· Lowveld Rhino Trust – anti-poaching and care of black rhino orphans – Zimbabwe
· Veterinary Interventions for Black Rhino Conservation – Zimbabwe
· Indian Rhino Vision 2020: Monitoring Translocated Rhinos in Manas – India
· Garamba Rhino Project – Democratic Republic of Congo
· Staff Exchange with Save the Rhino Trust – Namibia
· Investigation of Trade in Rhino Horn - Yemen
Black rhinos are actually not black at all. The species probably derives its name as a distinction from the white rhino (itself a misnomer) and/or from the dark-colored local soil that often covers its skin after wallowing in mud. They are herbivorous browsers that use their prehensile lip to feed on leaves and twigs in habitats ranging from wooded grasslands, to broadleaved woodlands, to acacia savannahs. Black rhinos are solitary animals that only come together to mate and one calf is born after a gestation period of 15-16 months.
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is open every day of the year 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. after Labor Day. General admission is $12 for adults, $7 for children ages 2 to 9 and seniors 60+. Children under 2 and Columbus Zoo members are free. The Zoo was named the #1 Zoo in America by USA Travel Guide and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA.) For more information and to purchase advance Zoo admission tickets, visit www.columbuszoo.org <http://www.columbuszoo.org> .
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