Calling All Sumatran Rhino Freaks....

Calling All Sumatran Rhino Freaks....
18-03-2008

Calling All Sumatran Rhino Freaks....

Google the 'Rhino Resource Centre' and then click for Sumatran Rhino- as well as the scientific information there is now an excellent 'library' of photos to view, many of them are 'archival' including several of 'Subur' at Copenhagen and 'Betina' at Basel, Torgamba at Port Lypmne, a male at Rangoon Zoo 1980's, orphaned calf Malaya 1930's, shot 'trophy' rhino (Malaya 1930's) and the ZSL Sumatran rhino too. Also plenty of the Way Kambas rhinos including Andalas just after arrival, a mating pair(before the tragedy) at Sungai Dusun, newborn calf at Sungai Dusun, Cincinatti mother and latest calf 'Harapan' as recent as November 2007, father Ipuh in his enclosure etc.etc. Definately the most comprehensive collection of Sumatran rhino photos I've ever seen....

18-03-2008

thats a great site grant, thanks for sharing it with us....

(here's the direct link) RRC: Rhino Resource Center

in the sumatran rhino gallery there are images of a baby rhino and mother with the caption reading "baby rhino born melacca zoo 1987" (or something like that).

surely not! surely these are mislabeled cincinnati pics?

18-03-2008

I am overwhelmed by the amount of documents available at this site...I thought it was just a bibliography of papers, not a database. WOW!

18-03-2008

No. It threw me a bit too but I've worked out that it is correct....
From the studbook;
The calf is 'Minah' (studbook no.15) born Zoo Melaka 23.5.87 to ''Rima' who was captured very early pregnant...so this calf wasn't conceived in captivity.

the mother 'Rima' arrived(from the wild)at Zoo Melaka 10.2.86, sent to Sungai Dusun centre 13.1.87, sent back to Melaka 6.3.87 (where calf was born two months later) then finally back to Sungai Dusun on 4.2.93. 'Minah' was sent from Melaka to Sungai in 1997(or 1999) She was the one they pinned most of their breeding hopes on as she was of a definite known age. Both died along with the others in the 2003 tragedy.

I knew one of the females at the Sungai Dusun centre was born in captivity but I didn't know it was born at Zoo Melaka. The background is definately not the same as the Cincinnati enclosure.

19-03-2008

Yep, in the Indian rhino section.

Did you see the one of the old Whipsnade male 'Mohan' with a lady riding on his back? (about Page 8 of the photo library.)

I didn't realise Whipsnade had exhibited an Indian rhino previously to Mohan and Mohini- circa 1930 though I have two different b/w postcards of it (stupid me)

there's also a horrible picture of a live rhino (it is still standing up)in Kaziranga which had been shot twice and with its horn sawn off- it died later.

A lot of photos I've never seen in the Javan section too. But they don't have the old photo postcard of the live Javan at Adelaide Zoo which I saw recently...only the museum specimen.

19-03-2008

that image made me feel ill.

19-03-2008

... and me. Because the animal must have been suffering greatly though hopefully it was in severe shock which they say reduces it.

20-09-2008

What was the tragedy you guys are talking about?

20-09-2008

About eight captive Sumatran rhinos died at a captive holding centre- Sungai Dusun in Malaysia within a very short time, reducing the captive population by about two thirds. Type in Sungai Dusun and you will find the full details...

21-09-2008

Hopefully the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary will have a birth in future years, the'r main hope is to use Andalas the first Rhino born in Cincinnati zoo, The four other rhino also seem happy, they were rescued from various places, one even had a full 180, rescued, shipped to a zoo, and came back,

21-09-2008

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Malaysian centre's last rhino dies

I just found this article where the head of the Malaysian Rhino Foundation says that the center should be closed down because the animals going there will be going to their deaths. He also wants to start the program in a disease free site.

21-09-2008

I can't remember where I saw a case on Nat Geo about a few Sumatran Rhinos were captured and soon later in the "breeding site" all of them died. most of them died because of unproper nutrients given to them in particular plants. Some died because they lacked nutrients and there was one who died because it te a plant posionous to Rhinos, (and most likely to many of species)

21-09-2008

Thanks for the link, I didn't realise such a tragedy happened. That was one hell of a set back to their future.

21-09-2008

I'm not sure how much of a setback it really was in so much as there had been no breeding(apart from one female that arrived pregnant) some of the animals were elderly and most had at least minor health problems.

But of course to lose them was a catastrophe and had they lived its likely they would have managed to breed from at least one or two of them at some stage.

22-09-2008

I've posted some historical pictures of sumatran rhinos in the gallery under Zoo london,Zoo basel,Zoo Kiopenhagne and Port Lympne, enjoy.

Altough I like sumatran rhinos, I mean, its better not to keep them in captivity, its not possible to give thme what they need, between 1984 and 1999 41 sumatran rhinos were imported, and 35 of them died....Thats evidence enough, that you can't keep them in a zoo.

Its unbelivabale,that a lot of sumatran rhinos, which are imported in the 19th century, lived longer in a zoo than today. The same with indian rhinos.

The only way to save them is , protect them in the wild.