The announcement means an end to the Sumatran rhino breeding program in the U.S., but zoo officials hope it will make a “global impact”.
Advertisement
Attempts to breed Harapan at the zoo haven’t worked, the Cincinnati Enquirer noted.
The Cincinnati Zoo’s Sumatran rhino, the only one on public display in the world, will leave the Zoo permanently in October to live in Indonesia. Numbers of the two-horned descendants of Ice Age wooly rhinos have fallen by some 90 percent since the mid-1980s as development of their Southeast Asia forest habitat and poachers seeking their prized horns took their toll.
“Despite the great personal sadness so many of us feel both about Harapan leaving and Cincinnati Zoo’s Sumatran rhino breeding program coming to an end, we need to focus on all we have accomplished, for there is much to celebrate”, Dr. Terri Roth, director of the Zoo’s Center for Conservation & Research of Endangered Wildlife, said to reporters.
“The Cincinnati Zoo has been committed to saving the Sumatran rhino for 25 years, and this move only strengthens that commitment”, Maynard added.
Harapan will join Andalas, who has been in Indonesia since 2007. “Ultimately, the responsibility for saving this magnificent species now lies squarely on the shoulders of our Indonesian colleagues”, Roth said.
Cincinnati’s zoo has been a pioneer in breeding the species, also called “hairy rhinos”, producing the first three born in captivity in modern times.
Receiving potential mates from Malaysia, the only other country with captive Sumatran rhinos, was not an option, said Roth, since that country only has infertile females.
Harapan at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens on Tuesday. “The opportunity for him to breed and contribute to his species survival exists only at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary”.
Advertisement
Harapan’s journey to the partner animal sanctuary will be long, said Dr. Roth.
