Press Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 1, 2007

Cumberland, OH (Nov. 1, 2007) – A female greater one-horned rhinoceros, also known as an Indian rhino, was born at the Wilds Sunday, Oct. 28.

The birth of the healthy calf marks the continuing success of the Indian rhino breeding program at the Wilds.

“This is the second Indian rhino calf born at the Wilds,” said Dr. Evan Blumer, executive director of the Wilds. “Our professional conservation medicine and animal management staff, expansive habitat, and a carefully developed management plan have all contributed to the successful breeding of this endangered species at the Wilds,” he added.

“The rhino calf’s mother and the baby are both doing fine,” said Dan Beetem, director of animal management at the Wilds. “They will spend the winter inside our Rhino Management Facility, and will be moved into our open pastures in the spring.”

The Wilds continues to be a leader in conservation efforts for captive and wild rhino populations. Dr. Blumer is a long-standing and active member of the International Rhino Foundation Board of Directors, and has served as the chair of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Rhino Taxon Advisory Group.

The greater one-horned (Indian) rhinoceros is classified as endangered by the World Conservation Union, or IUCN, and is part of a Species Survival Plan (SSP) coordinated by the AZA.

The Wilds participates in the SSP program in partnership with 21 other facilities.

The mission of an SSP is to help ensure the survival of selected wildlife species through organized managed breeding programs, cooperation between institutions, applied research, public awareness, and species reintroduction into secure natural habitats.

Indian rhinos can grow to be 4,800 pounds and 6 feet tall at their shoulder. They live in grassland and open forest habitats, and can live up to 47 years in captivity.

According to the International Rhino Foundation, these rhinos are a success story in conservation. Their population had dwindled to 200 in 1990, and by 2005, the estimated populations have grown to 2,500 in the wild, and 150 in captivity.

Once widespread in Southeast Asia, Indian rhinos are now found wild only in India and Nepal.

“Without intensive efforts, some species of rhino could face extinction during the next 10 years,” said Susie Ellis, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation. “These collaborative programs are a step in correcting this problem.”

Based on the Wilds’ successful and growing rhino breeding program, the Wilds received a male Indian rhino in July as part of an international breeding exchange program coordinated by the Zoological Society of San Diego.

The male rhino was born at the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park in Patna, India. He joins two other male Indian rhinos at the Wilds, and will be used as a breeder male in the future.

In turn, the Wilds plans to send one of its male Indian rhinos to serve as a breeder at another facility.

The swap between conservation facilities is intended to add new blood lines to Indian rhino breeding programs both in India and the U.S.

The Wilds is also home to southern white, or African rhinos. Four have been born at the Wilds in the past three years.

Situated on nearly 10,000 acres in southeast Ohio, the Wilds is one of the largest conservation centers in North America, and is home to rare and endangered animals from around the world.

The mission of the Wilds, an independent, nonprofit organization, is to advance conservation through science, education, and personal experience. For more information, visit www.thewilds.org.