ZooBorns

Two More Rhino Calves Bolster Conservation Efforts

The Wilds conservation center welcomed two Rhinoceros calves this fall! Born within one month of one another, each young Rhino is actually a separate species. The Greater One-horned Rhinoceros (a.k.a. the Indian Rhino) was born Oct. 14, 2012 (pictured above and last), following shortly after the arrival of a Southern White Rhinoceros born Sept. 28, 2012 (pictured second).

Photo credit: The Wilds

The fourth Greater One-horned Rhino born at the Wilds, marks the continuing success of this southeast Ohio conservation center's breeding program. This is the second calf for dam "Sanya" and the first for sire "Rustum". "Rustum" is part of a group brought from India by the San Diego Zoo in 2007 to bolster the genetics of the U.S. one-horned Rhino population.

“Rustum came to us as a young male and took some time to mature. It is exciting to see that his bloodline will now be represented in the North American Rhino population,” said Director of Animal Management Dan Beetem.

Nineteen-year-old “Julie,” the Wilds oldest female Southern White Rhino, gave birth to her fifth calf on Sept. 28, 2012. The sire, 9-year-old “Fireball,” came to the Wilds in 2008 as part of the Southern White Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan (SSP). The calf is the twelfth Southern White Rhino born at the Wilds.

Twin Cheetah Cubs Await Names

The Wilds in Ohio just finished their naming contest for their twin cheetah cubs, one male and one female, born on Octotber 31 to mom Tabu. We hear they are down to 4-6 sets of names but thought you'd like to see these babies as they decide. This is the second litter for Tabu but the first she is raising on her own. She's doing a great job, and has been very protective of her two little cubs.

Female cheetahs typically bear three to five cubs in a litter and the cubs stay with their mothers until they are 12 to 20 months old. A full-grown adult cheetah weighs between 86 and 143 pounds. Cheetahs live and hunt in open grasslands and bushy areas in parts of Africa and the Middle East. They are the fastest land mammals, reaching speeds of 60 to 70 miles an hour over short distances. 

Cheetahs are included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list of vulnerable species (African subspecies threatened, Asiatic subspecies in critical situation) as well as on the US Endangered Species Act: threatened species. Today there are just 12,400 cheetahs remaining in the wild, and the biggest population is currently located in Namibia with about 2,500 individuals. Asiatic subspecies is critically endangered counting only fifty to sixty individuals that still have their habitats in Iran.

Photo Credit: The Wilds

 

The Wilds Welcomes a 4th Generation White Rhino Calf

On October 2, Zenzele, a nine-year-old Southern White Rhino who was also born at the Wilds Conservation Center in southeast Ohio, gave birth to her second calf. The birth is particularly significant because this is the second fourth-generation calf born at the Wilds.

Photo Credits: The Wilds

An Armful of Cheetah Cubs at the Wilds

Cheetahs have been born at the the Wilds conservation center for the first time in the center’s history.  The first litter was born on October 20. Wilds' staff monitoring the female by video observed five-year-old “Kenji” leaving the cubs shortly after they were born and could see that one of the cubs was still wet and noticeably weaker.  Because the mother showed no interest in returning to the three cubs, the decision was made to hand-rear them. The second litter was born yesterday, October 28, and the three cubs are currently being cared for by five-year-old “Kamaria”. The Wilds is located in Cumberland, Ohio.  

Photo credits: Grahm Jones / Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

”Everyone at the Wilds is very excited about the new cubs.  Our whole team has put a lot of effort into making this program a success,” said Dan Beetem, Director of Animal Management.  “At the same time, we are being very cautious.  Newborn cubs can be very fragile and we have to monitor their progress one day at a time.  We hope that these cubs will survive and go on to be future breeders for the managed population."The breeding of these endangered cats at the Wilds was recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) for cheetahs.