Press Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 19, 2007

Cumberland, OH (Nov. 19, 2007) – A second female greater one-horned rhinoceros, also known as an Indian rhino, was born at the Wilds Thursday, Nov. 1, just four days after another female Indian rhino was born Oct. 28.

The birth of the healthy calf, the second in one year at the Wilds, marks the continuing success of the Indian rhino breeding program at the Wilds. This calf is the third Indian rhino born at the Wilds.

Both calves will spend the winter inside the Wilds’ Rhino Management Facility, and will be moved to open-range pastures when the weather becomes warmer in the spring.

The Wilds is currently closed to visitors for the season and will re-open in May.

Under the direction of Executive Director Dr. Evan Blumer, the Wilds continues to be a leader in conservation efforts for captive and wild rhino populations.

The Wilds’ rhino breeding program was developed by Dr. Blumer, a long-standing and active member of the International Rhino Foundation Board of Directors. He has also served as the chair of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Rhino Taxon Advisory Group.

“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,” said Dr. Blumer.

Poaching and native habitat destruction are great threats to the survival of Indian rhinos.

“The Wilds’ expansive rangeland provides a diverse habitat of grasslands and lakes that are necessary for their successful management and survival,” said Dr. Blumer.

Adding to the Indian rhino’s survival challenges are its long gestation period of 15 to 16 months. Indian rhino females don’t reach sexual maturity until 5 to 7 years of age, and after that, a healthy female can give birth at intervals of every two to three years.

“These are some of the reasons wild populations are slow to recover from poaching and other pressures,” said Dr. Blumer, “and why our programs are so important.”

“From our recorded observations, we were fairly certain two of our female Indian rhinos were pregnant this season, and that was confirmed through hormone profiles,” said Dan Beetem, director of animal management at the Wilds.

“We wanted to make sure they could give birth in a controlled, and warm, environment, so we brought them off pasture into our Rhino Management Facility,” Beetem explained. “Both calves were born overnight. No one on staff observed the births,” he said. “Most of our animals are born without any of our assistance.”

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 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.

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

Characteristics of the Indian rhino include a single horn that grows to be 8 to 24 inches long, and brownish-gray, hairless bodies with folds of skin that resemble plates of armor. They can grow to be 4,800 pounds and 6 feet tall at their shoulder, and can live up to 47 years in captivity.

The Indian rhino is primarily a grazer, and when not grazing on land, likes to immerse itself in water where it also grazes on aquatic grass-like plants.

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.

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.