Cincinnati Sumatran Rhino Update.

[Pertinax]

News just in from Cincinnati about the Sumatran Rhinos. They have announced they now plan to try and mate the brother x sister pair (Harapan & Suci.) It seems the other options such as AI (did they actually try it on her?)or obtaining the Bornean subspecies male 'Kertam' have not worked out, if they have reached this situation.

While not ideal genetically, I hope it works- the female 'Suci' needs to breed now, and if brother Harapan is the only option, so be it. The news photos of both animals, seen seperately but in a similar setting, show Harapan to be bulkier, hairier and with more developed horns, so I guess he is pretty much mature now. They also say Suci is a bit smaller, important in any mating attempts.

 

[Bib Fortuna]

Certainly not a perfect Option-but it is the only one.

Basel Zoo was in a similar Situation in the sixties, because no male Indian were available-so they mated the father with ist daughter, the mother with their son and a longtime inbreeding of Indian rhinos has started.

After the loss of the breeding male, they mated the 1980 Born bull"Chitwan" with his mother and his full sister-both give birth in 1988 the first time, but the calf of his sister was dead Born.

"Chitawan"has sired with his sister five calfs until 1996, four were raised and send to other Zoos.With his mother he has sired three calfs. One of their present breeding females at Basel,"Quetta", is one of the calfs from the brother/sister mating.

The largest part of the Indian rhino poluation in europe is inbred,but nevertheless that fact, the poulation is healthy and still growing very successfully.

So I think, mating "Harry"with"Suci"may be not the worst Option-so many other species in zoos are also inbred without any negative results.

 

[vogelcommando]

Article about the Cincinnati brother x sister pairing-up :
Ohio zoo tries to mate rhino siblings - Animals - NZ Herald News

 

[ThylacineAlive]

Whether the breeding of the two works or not, Harapan needs to eventually be sent to Indonesia. While it seems as if that is currently not an option, it has to be one long-term.

On a side-note, I was just in Cincinnati a few weeks ago and saw both Suci and Harapan. Harapan is looking like a very mature male rhino now. As Pertinax said, both rhinos were being kept in separate but very similar enclosures right next to each other and it did seem as if Harapan was a bit interested in his sister on the other side of the wall. And 'Harry' really is quite- well- hairy.

Here's some photos I took of the two:
Suci-
http://www.zoochat.com/556/sumatran-rhinoceros-328852/
http://www.zoochat.com/556/sumatran-rhinoceros-328853/

Harapan-
http://www.zoochat.com/556/sumatran-rhinoceros-328850/
http://www.zoochat.com/556/sumatran-rhinoceros-328851/
http://www.zoochat.com/556/sumatran-rhinoceros-328368/

 

[Pertinax]

Whether the breeding of the two works or not, Harapan needs to eventually be sent to Indonesia. While it seems as if that is currently not an option, it has to be one long-term.

Yes, I agree that is the more ideal scenario longerterm. They can only really breed from him this way with Suci, once or twice at most. The best option would be a straight exchange with a different male, but none are available at present.

Good photos by the way.

 

[ThylacineAlive]

Whether the breeding of the two works or not, Harapan needs to eventually be sent to Indonesia. While it seems as if that is currently not an option, it has to be one long-term.

Yes, I agree that is the more ideal scenario longerterm. They can only really breed from him this way with Suci, once or twice at most. The best option would be a straight exchange with a different male, but none are available at present.

Good photos by the way.

Yes, I agree. I only saw your post on the news thread after I posted this so I wasn't fully aware of Suci's need to breed now.

Thank you. Sumatran Rhinos are a beautiful species. Hairy, but beautiful.

~Thylo

 

[Pertinax]

Yes, I agree. I only saw your post on the news thread after I posted this so I wasn't fully aware of Suci's need to breed now.

Thank you. Sumatran Rhinos are a beautiful species. Hairy, but beautiful.

Suci is now nine and I guess has been of breeding age at least a year or more now- apparently if the females don't become reproductively active when they should do, they suffer all sorts of reproductive problems like ovarian cysts which can render them infertile. This(planned) pairing must have been done out of desperation at their situation in the US. The last I read was mention(by Teri Roth in a press article) of the Bornean male 'Kertam' possibly being brought over to breed with Suci,- maybe its all too political and the Indonesian government vetoed it.

Does anyone know if AI was actually used- unsuccessfully- on Suci?

Harapan looks a lot hairier than Suci- I guess that is due to his younger age- they seem to shed a lot of their hair as they get older- e.g. the females at Way Kambas are very smooth.

The recent crisis meeting they had in Singapore for Sumatran rhinos indicates there will be fresh moves made at saving them- but whether this involves bringing more animals, ones suitable to breed from, into captivity, remains to be seen. They seem to accept that this really will be a last ditch effort at saving them from extinction though.

 

[devilfish]

The last I read was mention(by Teri Roth in a press article) of the Bornean male 'Kertam' possibly being brought over to breed with Suci,- maybe its all too political and the Indonesian government vetoed it.

The recent crisis meeting they had in Singapore for Sumatran rhinos indicates there will be fresh moves made at saving them- but whether this involves bringing more animals, ones suitable to breed from, into captivity, remains to be seen. They seem to accept that this really will be a last ditch effort at saving them from extinction though.

There seems to have been a fair bit of progress on this front - at least in Borneo:
Loaning our rhino in order to save it | Daily Express Newspaper Online, Sabah, Malaysia.

 

[Pertinax]

Sifting through the strange grammar in this longwinded article, it seems they may now be prepared to send Kertam to Cincinnati in about a year's time, and for a one year loan, but that sperm from him may be made available before that time. It appears that it hasn't been available before now(?).

Whether all this will alter Cincinnati's plan to mate brother/sister together remains to be seen.

 

[Pertinax]

Cincinatti Dilemma.

Latest news seems to be they are now faced with a dilemma of whether to mate brother & sister(Harapan & Suci) at Cincinnati, or wait to see if the Bornean male(Kertam) becomes available in a year's time. They have said they will monitor the situation in Borneo for a couple of months before making a decision.

The problem they are facing is that if Suci becomes pregnant by her brother and successfully raises a calf, it will be three years before they can then breed her with the unrelated male. On the other hand, not trying to breed her now means another inactive year during which she could develop ovarian cysts.

My personal reaction would be to attempt the brother/sister mating and get her pregnant a.s.a.p. Putting their hopes on a male which may be available in a year seems unwise. If he does become available, and Suci is already pregnant, they won't have lost anything, and could use him next time. The other way they will lose another year and with no guarantees at the end of it.