At Cincinnati, the rhino paddocks actually face a very steep cliff with trees on top, so that effectively blocks the light from that direction. To view the rhinos you have to walk to the bottom of a steep canyon incline. It is pretty dark down there at the bottom. The edge of the sunshade is very close to the face of the cliff. Only the narrow public walkway divides cliff from paddock. There is blue sky to be seen behind the night houses, but the enormous, very tall sunshade and the rock facing of the indoor area helps to effectively block the light. Ipuh's enclosure, however, is a bit higher on the incline (encountered first on your left as you go down the slope)-- and that enclosure seems to receive a bit more ambient light. Most of the time, I need a 2.8 lens to take a fast-shutter speed action shot of a rhino in motion under the sunshade. If there are any clouds in the sky at all, it is as I said quite dark down there at the bottom of the canyon. Certainly as dark as the lighting situation that I've observed in photos taken of Andalas at Way Kambas. No doubt a great deal of damage had been done to the rhinos' eyes prior to the zoo becoming aware of the need for the protection of the sheltering canopy. I intend to find out more about the current situation re their eye problem. Terri Roth and the staff at Cincinnati Zoo are doing an incredible job of taking care of the rhinos at Cincinnati--and have worked very hard to adapt to the Sumatran's special needs. Unfortunately, so little was known about those needs when the first 40 animals were brought into captivity. That was indeed a huge failing on the part of the zoo community--to understand that deep rainforest rhinos had very different needs from black/white/Indian rhinos--a failing that cost the lives of almost all of the founding stock. But they were covering new ground. As with most pioneering efforts, tragic mistakes were made. Thank goodness Terri and staff were so thorough and determined to keep their rhinos alive. For example, Sumatran rhinos must have ficus browse. One of the keepers told me that at one point Ipuh was down and was not expected to survive. In desperation, a keeper brought in some ficus. Ipuh ate it-- and got back on his feet. Since that time, ficus has been flown in for the rhinos several times a week. This simple fact was not understood when the rhinos were first brought in from the wild. Ficus now comprises most of their diet at the Cincinnati Zoo. Sumatran rhinos must also have a daily mud bath. If they go without it, their skin will crack, become inflamed, and the rhinos will die... At the time of Andalas' conception, the actual gestation of the Sumatran rhino was unknown. Emi had miscarried 5 times prior to giving birth to Andalas. But she had been conditioned to accept blood being drawn from a vein at the back of her ear (as well as rectal exams). Blood samples allowed hormone levels to be regularly monitored. At one point Emi was briefly introduced to Ipuh while he was in his pool. Mating took place-- and an ultrasound revealed that she had begun ovulating after her introduction to the male, making Sumatran rhinos induced ovulators. The actual stimulus remained a mystery, though it was thought that seminal plasma may have done the trick. To prevent miscarriage, Emi was given a progesterone supplement daily (delivered by her keepers in a loaf of her favorite Wonder Bread), then was weaned off of the hormone starting at day 450, with supplementation ending at day 465. Andalas was born after a 475 day gestation. Progesterone supplementation was not administered during the pregnancies that produced Suci in 2004 and Harapan in 2007. None of this was known/thought possible prior to Terri Roth and her team's work at Cincinnati. Theirs was a pioneering effort.
Cincinnati zoo must be given much credit for the breakthough with the breeding of the Sumatran rhinos, as you say little was really known about them
Absolutely! Three calves in six years is a monumental achievement, especially considering the many challenges and obstacles that the program was facing. Emi deserves credit as well! She is an amazing, attentive, and very patient mother. That was very clear to me once I started watching her outdoors with her calves. And she has adapted so well to working with all of the probing/sampling that Terri and her staff need to do in order to further the science of the breeding program.
1. Out of interest, what is the sunshade made of- is it a canvas awning? And does it extend over most of the outdoor paddock, or just a section. Presumably Ipuh's enclosure has one too? 2. Yes, I've heard the story of Ipuh and the Ficus browse, some reports say he was only 24 hours from death when the first lot was offered and he immediately started feeding. What interests me about this is I don't think the rhinos at Port Lympne were fed Ficus (Mark??)as it doesn't grow naturally in the UK yet their pair lived in good health for many years. I know their diet was very rich and varied but they obviously managed to get them feeding okay without them nearly dying. Then again, Emi was fed her progesterone in loaves of bread, so she obviously likes more ordinary foods. So was it just Ipuh who was difficult feeder, perhaps because of his age? (the Port Lympne animalsw were mature too...) 3. The induced ovulation system in this species is why I wonder if AI alone(e.g. for Suci at maturity) without the stimulus of actual mating/penetration is ever going to be possible with this species. 4.I agree the Cincinnati team have done wonders in solving the management and reproductive mysteries surrounding the species. I do believe however all their expertise could have been wasted but for one KEY factor- Emi's young age on importation- this allowed for the dietary mistakes, reproductive problems and miscarriages to be solved while she was a young animal- it might have been more difficult with an older one- and certainly impossible if she'd been post reproductive- in which case breeding the Sumatran rhino in captivity would have been a 100% failure. Emi rocks!! 5. Yassa mentioned that Suci may have been sent to Los Angeles Zoo. Do you know if that's correct and if so whether its a loan or a more permanent arrangement?
Yeah. The vetinary reports for all the 8(?) rhinos at Sungai Dusun listed them all, except maybe one, as in good health. But all were listed as 'cloudy eyes' I'm wondering if its going to impossible to prevent these eye problems under captive situations of any sort, even in a semi- forested enclosure like Way Kambas the light intensity is going to be greater than in dense virgin forest. (Its a similar situation to your Malayan tapirs in Australia.) ... unless they devise special 'blinkers' for the rhinos to wear- it sounds ridiculous I know but its not so impossible...
Unless it happened in the last few months, I still believe Suci is at Cincinnati. A move like that would have generated a lot of press.
The Tapir exhibit at Taronga is completely covered in Camo netting... I wonder if this has been a success and could be replicated at Cinci..?
That's a very good idea and must fairly closely replicate leafy vegetation with light filtering through, pretty accurately. Not too expensive either. I'd like to see some of these very open outdoor Gorilla exhibits try that too- the zoos would have to devise their own ways of preventing the Gorillas reaching it of course!
the taronga tapir are blind from what i have been told and actually do wear blinkers. the camo netting was over the old exhibit and i would assume functioned okay, but like i said earlier, it makes little difference if they are looking out over a glary bitumen road etc.. from the photos i've seen the new tapir exhibit at taronga is even less appropriate. very sunny.
Unless its changed since September the new exhibit in Wild Asia was almost entirely covered in Camo netting and the Tapirs appeared to have at least some sight to me...
Oh, so it wasn't such an odd idea and has already been done. How are the blinkers fitted- do they have a head harness or whatever to hold them in place? My guess is they were used too late to really help save their sight though. I really hate to hear about new exhibits which aren't suitable for the occupants- animals placed in less than suitable enclosures where the aesthetic wins over the practical...
thanks jeremy - sounds like the zoo have placed camo netting over the new exhibit also. its hard to tell if they have sight or not, melbourne animal appeared to have full vision, but is apparently quite advanced in blindness. smell and familiarity with the enclosure can all contribute to the animal navigating around with seemingly little issue. however, this is guesswork, i'm not disagreeing with you. i'd be keen to hear more. malayan tapir seem to otherwise do well in australian zoos so i have always been disappointed the eye condition has seen the end of the breeding program. worse still i'm not confident our zoos tried their best to prevent the problem in the first place. zoos could easily sun-proof their exhibit, and by that i mean totally cover them to the point that they are equal in light levels to that of a rainforest.
thanks jeremy - sounds like the zoo have placed camo netting over the new exhibit also. its hard to tell if they have sight or not, melbourne animal appeared to have full vision, but is apparently quite advanced in blindness. smell and familiarity with the enclosure can all contribute to the animal navigating around with seemingly little issue. however, this is guesswork, i'm not disagreeing with you. i'd be keen to hear more. malayan tapir seem to otherwise do well in australian zoos so i have always been disappointed the eye condition has seen the end of the breeding program. worse still i'm not confident our zoos tried their best to prevent the problem in the first place. zoos could easily sun-proof their exhibits, and by that i mean totally cover them to the point that they are equal in light levels to that of a rainforest.
This really makes me wonder: back in my keeper days, the Malay tapir keeper was always joking about how tentative the tapirs were, how they were sooo slow to go down the shift hall in the building to go outdoors in the morning, that "every day was a brand new day" for the tapirs. I am wondering now: maybe that's cause they were friggin BLIND?! Their outdoor area was full blazing sun. I wonder if anyone ever even thought to check...
That sounds like a really good idea...a lot of rainforest enclosures that i have seen are out in the open and surrounded by trees/plantings. The camo-canvas shading could make for a dimmer environment and healthier, possible more active animals. Plus they are cheaper than shading methods seen today and can be removable in event of bad weather (ie snow, hurricane, severe thunderstorm, etc). And zoos that plan to have a canopy of trees dont have to wait for plants to mature and still have the shade. Interesting.....
I can only imagine how rough it must be on the Miami Metrozoo tapirs-- I almost go blind from the intensity of the sun's white hot glare down there.
its also interesting that the problem seems confined to (?) the two species of the same size, ecological niche and southeast asian origin. brazilian tapirs seem unaffected, possibly due to their wider distribution of habitat. i have seen photos of them in the open during the day.
Your probably right, in my three passes (if I remember) of Wild Asia I only saw the Tapir twice (once well) and then only watched for a few minutes... I remember it swimming and having a familiarity with the enclosures boundaries but this could very easily have been, well, familiarity not sight...
