Java rhinos in Zoos

P

pateman

New Member
6 rhinos were captured in Indonesia around 1995. I believe they were Javan rhinos? But possibly Sumratan? Two were put in the Jakarta zoo where they were poisoned by a disgruntled employee. Two went to a zoo in southeast England - Howllets? and two to a zoo in America. I visited the rhinos in Jakarta and in England, where I remember the keeper was called Baz. I can find no record of these animals?
 
pateman said:
6 rhinos were captured in Indonesia around 1995. I believe they were Javan rhinos? But possibly Sumratan? Two were put in the Jakarta zoo where they were poisoned by a disgruntled employee. Two went to a zoo in southeast England - Howllets? and two to a zoo in America. I visited the rhinos in Jakarta and in England, where I remember the keeper was called Baz. I can find no record of these animals?
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Based on the references to England and America, you are thinking of Sumatran Rhinoceros. Howletts worked with Port Lympne, and there is some information here from smarter zoochatters than me. Cincinnati famously held the last individuals in the United States, but they were previous also held at Bronx, Los Angeles and a few others.

Javan Rhinoceros are not believed to have been held in captivity in the west for very roughly a century, and I believe those individuals were held at London and misidentified as Indian Rhinoceros.
 
JVM said:
Based on the references to England and America, you are thinking of Sumatran Rhinoceros. Howletts worked with Port Lympne, and there is some information here from smarter zoochatters than me. Cincinnati famously held the last individuals in the United States, but they were previous also held at Bronx, Los Angeles and a few others.

Javan Rhinoceros are not believed to have been held in captivity in the west for very roughly a century, and I believe those individuals were held at London and misidentified as Indian Rhinoceros.
Click to expand...
I believe the last Javan rhino held in the west was the one held in the Adelaide zoo which was misidentified as an Indian rhino and died in 1907 now held in the Museum in Adelaide
 
JVM said:
Javan Rhinoceros are not believed to have been held in captivity in the west for very roughly a century, and I believe those individuals were held at London and misidentified as Indian Rhinoceros
Click to expand...
London Zoo only had one Javan rhino; it was not wrongly identified as an Indian rhino. (It was at the zoo from 7th March 1874 until 23rd January 1885.)

As "Zorro" has pointed out the Adelaide Javan rhino was misidentified as an Indian rhino; it was at Adelaide Zoo from 12th April 1886 until 4th February 1907 and not identified as a Javan rhino until its remains were examined in the Adelaide Museum.
 
Tim May said:
London Zoo only had one Javan rhino; it was not wrongly identified as an Indian rhino. (It was at the zoo from 7th March 1874 until 23rd January 1885.)
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Thank you for letting me know, that's very interesting.

I think someone I spoke with previously conflated Adelaide with London.
 
pateman said:
6 rhinos were captured in Indonesia around 1995. I believe they were Javan rhinos? But possibly Sumratan? Two were put in the Jakarta zoo where they were poisoned by a disgruntled employee. Two went to a zoo in southeast England - Howllets? and two to a zoo in America. I visited the rhinos in Jakarta and in England, where I remember the keeper was called Baz. I can find no record of these animals?
Click to expand...
What you are alluding to was a UK/Port Lympne sponsored project back in the day when they tried to set up the first ex situ group for Sumateran rhino in both Indonesian zoos and at the UK facility. Later on ..., US zoos took over when sadly the breeding pair in the UK failed to breed (unfortunately, when captured and transferred their female proved to be post reproductive ...).
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
What you are alluding to was a UK/Port Lympne sponsored project back in the day when they tried to set up the first ex situ group for Sumateran rhino in both Indonesian zoos and at the UK facility. Later on ..., US zoos took over when sadly the breeding pair in the UK failed to breed (unfortunately, when captured and transferred their female proved to be post reproductive ...).
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The first female was indeed an older female also it arrived in the UK with an old leg injury apparently from a poachers snare this was a major setback for the zoo, I was lucky to get to see both the male and the second female up close off exhibit!
 
I will look up my ancient Javan rhino records of old zoo traditions. My home country was of course long time a coloniser .... and you have no idea what not came out of Indonesia in rarities and endangered species by our own time frame / clock nowadays.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Later on ..., US zoos took over when sadly the breeding pair in the UK failed to breed (unfortunately, when captured and transferred their female proved to be post reproductive ...).
Click to expand...

I belive rhinos were imported simultaneously to the USA and to Port Lympne, rather than PL being the first. It was all one, mainly unsuccessful, project afaik. Only Emi at Cincinnati successfully bred and she was one of the last three in the USA by then ( Emi at LA. Ipuh (bull) at Cinci. Rapunzel(elderly female) at Bronx. The whole scheme was fraught with problems- diet, ages of the animals etc. and was really a massive failure.
 
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