Went to the see on this fine sunny day. Talked with some Keepers and this is what I found out.
Spoke with the White Rhino Keeper looking to see if there is any news on whether the girls may be pregnant or not. She said they’ve done some testing with urine, and the results were negative. However, they found out they may have done the test a bit too early, as they can’t detect pregnancy before the 3 month mark, which is when they did the testing. They’re still training the girls for blood testing which is a more accurate test, but they’ve been difficult in that area. So, when the weather gets warmer, mainly overnight, they’ll put the girls back out with Tom for the summer for safe measure.
For the Cheetahs Emma, Mahala, Akeelah and Tika are all on exhibit. Cleo is currently with the males hopefully breeding. Keeper said that there a 3 males and 1 female off exhibit. Bomani being one of the males (can’t remember the names of the other two) and Jamoccha being the 1 female. She’s 12 years old, so she’s pretty much retired from being on exhibit. Keepers are really hoping for pregnancies by the end of this summer, as they are hoping to try artificial insemination along with regular breeding.
Last bit of news is the Indian Rhino. I spoke with the Keeper after the Keeper talk, and they believe Asha may be pregnant. Throughout the entire winter she hasn’t been cycling, which Keepers notice through behavioural changes. When Asha is cycling, she makes clicking noises and whistling noises, which does get the attention of Vishnu, who tries to get to her. This didn’t happen all throughout the winter. Now the Keeper did mention that Asha has never carried a pregnancy through full term, and they believe it was due to a deficiency of a certain hormone, which is being supplemented into Asha’s diet, which Keepers keep an eye on through urine samples. So far everything looks good, but it’s still early, and they have yet to full confirm an actual pregnancy. Only time will tell.
Also, keep in mind that if the White Rhinos or Indian Rhinos are pregnant, it will be a long time before we seem them, as they have a gestation period of 15-18 months.