Latest news with #blackrhino
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Science
- Washington Post
The world's black rhino numbers have increased but there's bad news for others
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The number of critically endangered black rhinos has increased slightly, but there is bad news for other rhino species, according to a global count released Thursday by the International Rhino Foundation. It said that black rhino numbers went up from 6,195 to 6,788 in the latest estimates. White rhinos had declined, however, from 15,942 to 15,752 since the last count in 2021. Black and white rhinos are only found in the wild in Africa.
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Potter Park Zoo officials discover what's making Doppsee the rhino sick
LANSING — Doctors now know what's behind a sudden illness in one of Potter Park Zoo's most well-known residents. Doppsee, an eastern black rhino who experienced "a medical emergency" on Monday, July 28, has an obstruction, the zoo said on Thursday, July 31. Veterinarians found the issue after they conducted an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy on Doppsee while she was sedated, part of a series of examinations since she took ill. The zoo had announced the illness on July 29, one day after 'her behaviors indicated a very sudden decline in her health.' Veterinarian Ronan Eustace, the zoo's director of animal health, said staff noticed signs that were "acute in nature." Doppsee stopped eating and seemed to be uncomfortable and much quieter than usual, he said. There were signs of colic, for which there could be many causes, he said. A large group of specialists from Michigan State University and other zoos have been working to figure out what's going on, Eustace said. Doppsee has been undergoing treatment and resting inside her barn while under constant monitoring. Doppsee, now 18, came to the Lansing zoo in 2011, Her pairing with Phineus in 2017 produced a male calf born in December 2019. The calf was named Jaali. Black rhino births in captivity are relatively rare, and Jaali, the first black rhino calf ever born at Potter Park Zoo, captured the hearts of animal fans around the world. Jaali was moved to Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in California in 2021 and paired with a female rhino from a zoo in Ohio as part of the Species Survival Plan, said Amy Morris-Hall, executive director of the Potter Park Zoological Society. The well-mannered Doppsee has long been one of the zoo's most well-known and beloved residents, Morris-Hall said. As part of the zoo's educational programming, she's met thousands of school children. The eastern black rhino is critically endangered, with an estimated 5,000 living in the wild, Morris-Hall said. There are about 57 black rhinos living at zoos, she said. This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Potter Park Zoo officials discover what's making Doppsee the rhino sick Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Baraka, Kenya's blind rhino - adventurous soul with a sweet tooth
Completely unfazed by camera clicks and luring calls, Baraka munches on the grass of the savannah. With his massive body, thick grey skin and the pointed horn, the black rhino appears invincible. But life for Baraka, whose name means "the blessed one" in Swahili, is challenging. The 30-year-old rhino bull is blind, afer he lost one eye in a fight with another rhino in 2008, and the other due to a cataract. If Baraka were to roam freely through the savannah of the Kenyan highlands, he would be an easy target – in clashes with rival rhinos, or for poachers. In the private sanctuary Ol Pejeta in the Mount Kenya region, however, the black rhino lives in the safety of a 100-acre compound, protected by caretakers. He is not the only rhino celebrity of the sanctuary. Ol Pejeta is also home to the last two remaining northern white rhinos in the world. After the death of the male Sultan in 2018, the species is functionally extinct. The two remaining females, Najin and Fatu, are protected around the clock by armed rangers. Efforts to ensure the survival of the northern white rhino include attempts to facilitate reproduction through IVF. Yet while scientists have successfully created northern white rhino embryos, there have been challenges in implanting these embryos into surrogate southern white rhino mothers. Hope, however, dies last. Baraka, on the other hand, is a kind of ambassador for his critically endangered species. Almost 200 black rhinos live in Ol Pejeta, the largest population in Kenya. Unlike their slightly larger relatives, the white rhinos, black rhinos are very shy and are rarely found in the open savannah - they prefer forest areas for browsing. Thanks to Baraka, visitors to Ol Pejeta are guaranteed to see a black rhino. His caretakers know how to lure the rhino to the fence of his enclosure with a piece of sugar cane or some carrots. Even though he is blind, Baraka isn't helpless. He orients himself primarily by scent and markings from urine or feces, says Grace, one of the rhino's keepers. "Sometimes, when he gets bored in his enclosure, he does an escape run," she says about the adventurous heavyweight with a smile on her face. "We've even found him at the other end of the sanctuary. He just follows his nose whenever something smells interesting." There are only about 6,000 black rhinos and about 18,000 white rhinos left in all of Africa. Therefore, security is as important in Ol Pejeta as it is in state national parks. In Ol Pejeta, around 260 employees are responsible for protecting the wildlife. The rangers of the Rhino Patrol Unit track and record rhino sightings. Every black rhino must be sighted at least once every three years by the rangers who roam the sanctuary with binoculars and notebooks. Armed rangers with paramilitary training and a dog unit are also deployed in the area to deter poachers. Rhinos are the second largest mammals living on earth, who were once hunted for sport and meat. Today, poacher kill them to meet demand from Asia and the Middle East, where rhino horn is considered to have medicinal properties and is used to make ornamental dagger handles. A kilogram of rhino horn can fetch up to $60,000 on the black market. Yet while elephants are poached because of their ivory tusks, rhino horn is just made of the same substance as human fingernails – keratin.
