Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens Sumatran rhino returning to LA Zoo

[DavidBrown]

The new newsletter for the LA Zoo has an article on the state of Sumatran rhino breeding program in Sumatra and the US. Andalas the male Sumatran rhino born at the Cincinnati Zoo and resident at LA Zoo (2003-2007) is a the Sumatran rhino breeding center in Sumatra with 3 females. No births yet. Harapan (Andalas' brother) is coming back to the LA Zoo from White Oak in Florida. The newsletter states that the LA Zoo hopes to find a female for him at some point.

For those of us participating in the Javan rhino discussion of recent days this brings up some sobering information: captive Sumatran rhino breeding does not seem to be working very well in their range state, much less ex-situ.

 

[mstickmanp]

Finally!! I've known for several months now, but I had to wait for the news to be made public by the zoo first. I'm so excited for Harapan to come to LA, but I'm wondering where/and if he will be exhibited.

 

[DavidBrown]

Finally!! I've known for several months now, but I had to wait for the news to be made public by the zoo first. I'm so excited for Harapan to come to LA, but I'm wondering where/and if he will be exhibited.

I was wondering about the exhibiting issue also. The newsletter article says that they are hoping that his presence at the zoo will raise lots of awareness and funding for Sumatran rhino conservation. This sounds to me like they are building an exhibit for him (or more likely modifying an existing one). Maybe the takins will be moved somewhere else and he will get Anadalas's old digs?

 

[Blackduiker]

There was always talk of someday having them back at the zoo again. The Takin habitat is a likely space. It would be nice to see them redevelop some of the former hillside space as a future Takin habitat.

 

[Mr T]

The newsletter states that the LA Zoo hopes to find a female for him at some point.

So does this mean that they will be bringing a female in from Sumatra then? Or are there any females elsewhere that he could be paired with?

 

[DavidBrown]

So does this mean that they will be bringing a female in from Sumatra then? Or are there any females elsewhere that he could be paired with?

The newsletter article says that their hope is that the Indonesian government will allow a female to be sent to LA, but that this will only happen if the captive breeding program in Sumatra proves to be successful. This is not currently the case, so I don't think they are expecting a female any time soon.

 

[Mr T]

I have done a little bit of research and found out that there are 4 (Originally 5 but male Torgamba died aged 32) individuals in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in the Way Kambas national park and have included the details I could obtain. If anyone had further information then please feel free to add to it.

Andalas - Male, 10 years old, has mated with Ratu.

Ratu - Female, 9-10 years old, became pregnant after matings with Andalas in 2010 but miscarried.

Bina - Female, 23 years old.

Rosa - Female, No age given.

Unfortunately this really does not look good for this species. Hopefully (and I'm sure they have) they will have some genetic info from Torgamba which could be used for AI or cloning if this possibility ever becomes a realistic goal.

 

[IanRRobinson]

IF - nd it's a huge "if" - the Indonesian government were to send a viable female to the US, shouldn't Cincinnati have first refusal?

 

[Pertinax]

IF - nd it's a huge "if" - the Indonesian government were to send a viable female to the US, shouldn't Cincinnati have first refusal?

The basic problem is the three animals in the USA are all related, female Suci, her father Ipuh, and younger brother Harapan- original subject of this thread.

Harapan can be discounted at present as still too young to breed. But the other two somehow need reorganising unless they are going to breed father & daughter together or try AI. There has been no recent information on what they plan to do, now the female zooborn 'Suci' has reached (or is rapidly approaching) breeding age. An exchange with Way Kambas?

 

[DavidBrown]

IF - nd it's a huge "if" - the Indonesian government were to send a viable female to the US, shouldn't Cincinnati have first refusal?

I'm not sure of the details Ian. I know that the whole original program was a consortium that included LA, Cincy, Bronx, maybe others. The article in the newsletter spells out that is all at the discretion of the Indonesian government and that at this point the possibility of a female being sent here is very remote. It may be that the first female would go to Cincy, or that they would wait until there are enough females (and males) to start a new breeding nucleus across more than one zoo like they tried the first time.

Does anyone reading this know how the original program was structured in terms of how many individuals there were in the original group and what zoos participated?

At this point bringing in more Sumatran rhinos to the US is all theoretical unless they get the insitu captive breeding project working, which sadly has not been successful for almost two decades now.

 

[mstickmanp]

There was always talk of someday having them back at the zoo again. The Takin habitat is a likely space. It would be nice to see them redevelop some of the former hillside space as a future Takin habitat.

That's actually not a bad idea, and I did notice that one of the hillside exhibits was cleared recently, so maybe that is what they are doing.

Now I wish they would have done the planned "Elephants of Indonesia" viewing area which would have included a viewing area for the Elephants by the Sumatran Rhino exhibit (current Takin exhibit), and new aviary.

 

[Cat-Man]

wow, this is certinaly unusual news. Kind of buggers my plan to visit White Oak next Year just for the Sumatran Rhino . When is he being moved? this seems strange considering white oak is a more natural climate for the species. Is there any serious colaboration between the Indonesian Government and the US breeding programme that could allow for the Allocation of more Rhino into the US?

 

[DavidBrown]

wow, this is certinaly unusual news. Kind of buggers my plan to visit White Oak next Year just for the Sumatran Rhino . When is he being moved? this seems strange considering white oak is a more natural climate for the species. Is there any serious colaboration between the Indonesian Government and the US breeding programme that could allow for the Allocation of more Rhino into the US?

Just keep heading west Cat-man and visit the rhino at the LA Zoo. The LA Zoo ZooChatters would enjoy meeting you. The Indonesian government sending a female is contingent on the captive breeding program in Sumatra working, so yes, it sounds like there is a serious collaboration but it depends on events that have not been happening (i.e., lots of baby rhinos being born in Sumatra).

 

[Cat-Man]

^ah, david, you may not know this, as regretfully we haven't socialised much on the forum(on that note I'll send you a friend request as I've so far found all your posts very informative) that I am infact only 14 , and I will be visiting Florida as a greater family vacation. Aswell as the standard disney, seaworld busch gardens, seaworld etc, I have decided, through my own money, to have a wildlife experiance. Which until now was going to be to visit white oak specifically for the Sumatran Rhino. Unfortunatly, now that is not going to happen, I've decided that I shall be swimming with Manatee at Hommosassa Springs Wildlife State Park!

 

[DavidBrown]

^ah, david, you may not know this, as regretfully we haven't socialised much on the forum(on that note I'll send you a friend request as I've so far found all your posts very informative) that I am infact only 14 , and I will be visiting Florida as a greater family vacation. Aswell as the standard disney, seaworld busch gardens, seaworld etc, I have decided, through my own money, to have a wildlife experiance. Which until now was going to be to visit white oak specifically for the Sumatran Rhino. Unfortunatly, now that is not going to happen, I've decided that I shall be swimming with Manatee at Hommosassa Springs Wildlife State Park!

@Cat-man: The quality of conversation from some of the younger members like yourself on this forum is astounding. I did not realize until I had been here awhile that members like yourself and KCZooFan and others are much younger than many of us. This gives me hope for the future.

Manatees are a good choice.

Maybe on your next visit you can convince your family to visit Disneyland and then you can visit Harapan at the LA Zoo (hopefully at that time maybe he'll have company, assuming that the Sumatran program can solve their problems) and the San Diego Zoo.

 

[Cat-Man]

@Cat-man: The quality of conversation from some of the younger members like yourself on this forum is astounding. I did not realize until I had been here awhile that members like yourself and KCZooFan and others are much younger than many of us. This gives me hope for the future.

Manatees are a good choice.

Maybe on your next visit you can convince your family to visit Disneyland and then you can visit Harapan at the LA Zoo (hopefully at that time maybe he'll have company, assuming that the Sumatran program can solve their problems) and the San Diego Zoo.

Thankyou very much David, that means a lot. And a trip to California does seem likely in the near future, as my dad has always wanted to explore that part of the world, and of course i would not be missing out on the two san diego parks and LA zoo. And being disney nuts, they would also like to visit the original Disneyland

anyways, back on topic!

 

[gerenuk]

I'm not sure of the details Ian. I know that the whole original program was a consortium that included LA, Cincy, Bronx, maybe others. The article in the newsletter spells out that is all at the discretion of the Indonesian government and that at this point the possibility of a female being sent here is very remote. It may be that the first female would go to Cincy, or that they would wait until there are enough females (and males) to start a new breeding nucleus across more than one zoo like they tried the first time.

Does anyone reading this know how the original program was structured in terms of how many individuals there were in the original group and what zoos participated?

At this point bringing in more Sumatran rhinos to the US is all theoretical unless they get the insitu captive breeding project working, which sadly has not been successful for almost two decades now.

Los Angeles, Miami, Bronx, Cincinnati, and San Diego were the original partners of the Sumatran Rhino Trust (SRT). 7.7 Sumatran Rhinos were originally planned for capture - 5 pairs for the US and 2 pairs for facilities in Indonesia. All said rhinos are the joint property of the SRT and Indonesia.

At the beginning of every year, all holders of captive Sumatran Rhinos and wildlife officials in countries that have wild Sumatran Rhinos meet to discuss the in-situ and ex-situ programs of the species. It is not at all remote nor is the idea theoretical to import a female or male Sumatran Rhino. That is all the more that I am willing to share.

 

[DavidBrown]

Los Angeles, Miami, Bronx, Cincinnati, and San Diego were the original partners of the Sumatran Rhino Trust (SRT). 7.7 Sumatran Rhinos were originally planned for capture - 5 pairs for the US and 2 pairs for facilities in Indonesia. All said rhinos are the joint property of the SRT and Indonesia.

At the beginning of every year, all holders of captive Sumatran Rhinos and wildlife officials in countries that have wild Sumatran Rhinos meet to discuss the in-situ and ex-situ programs of the species. It is not at all remote nor is the idea theoretical to import a female or male Sumatran Rhino. That is all the more that I am willing to share.

@gerenuk: Thanks for the information. I have only the LA Zoo article to go on, and you seem to be in the loop on what is really happening, but the article seemed clear that there weren't anymore rhinos coming to LA until the Sumatran in-situ program booted up and started working reliably (i.e., substantial numbers of healthy offspring are produced). This is what I was referencing. Are you hopeful that the in-situ breeding program can get off the ground? The tone of the LA article was rather pessimistic on this (and the available public evidence seems to support it).

How are the Sumatran rhinos in the wild doing? Where can those of us interested in the status of Sumatran rhinos (wild and captive) go for reliable news updates?

 

[elephantking]

I wonder were he will be housed i know this wont happen but if he was rotated around Elephants of Asia's yards it would be awesome.

 

[gerenuk]

I didn't say anything about more Sumatran rhinos going to Los Angeles. Los Angeles Zoo has had the opportunity to take Harapan several times since 2008. Over the last two years I've heard rumors of that rhino going to Lowry Park, Miami, San Diego, Cincinnati, Disney, etc. Of course Los Angeles is probably going to sound pessimistic about the program - I'm not even sure they want him. I heard a lot of stories about his plight.

As for the wild - it is rather stable. There is not much talk about complete population estimates, though it is popularly considered less than 200 individuals. I'm not sure if there are any field projects occurring right now. However, the anti-poaching teams are doing an excellent job with the rhinos in Eastern Sumatra and the remaining Javan rhino populations. No poaching under their watch in many years. Beyond these areas, I do not know of much news. IRF (International Rhino Foundation) has its hands in a lot of the Sumatran Rhino programs in Indonesia. They are often selective in what they publicly announce. But if there is any news, it is likely to come from that source.

The biggest factor holding back the program in Way Kambas are the managers' reluctance to breed the rhinos. Sumatran Rhino courtship can be rather "rough". Both rhinos often suffer injuries to their faces or legs. Like other Asian rhinos they prefer to use their canines, rather than their horns. Each rhino at the sanctuary has two keepers, they take 12 hours shifts watching the rhinos. Those rhinos are under constant supervision by their keepers. And since the keepers depend on these rhinos for their lively-hood, they are reluctant to allow the rhinos to get hurt in anyway. If one rhino were to die - two keepers loose their jobs.