On 31 August a male Indian rhinoceros calf was born at Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich, Germany. Up to now it is the first Indian rhino birth in captivity worldwide in 2015.
The rhino calf’s first public appearance in the Rhino House and the outdoor enclosure was on 9 September. He is an entertaining little rascal. He runs and romps in his enclosure full of energy, enjoying the sun and from time to time giving his mum several nudges and prods as a way of pestering her to come and play. As with most baby rhinoceros, this storm and stress phase is usually followed by moments of calm, when the little rhino lies down for a rest.
Although healthy and energetic things were different three days after his birth. The calf suddenly appeared to be in a weakened state due to an infection. As a result, a decision was taken at short notice by the zoo’s veterinarians, curators and management to keep the mother and child behind the scenes for a little longer and initiate intensive treatment. He was monitored around the clock by the keepers and examined and treated several times daily by the vets. The newborn calf was quickly back on its feet and was eventually given the all-clear on 9 September. The infection discovered was probably caused by the calf’s residual of the umbilical cord accidentally torn by his mum.
Indian rhino mum and calf in their indoor enclosure:
(Source: Hellabrunn — Der Münchner Tierpark YouTube channel)
In the wild
There are currently approximately 2,750 Indian rhinoceroses left in the wild, of which just over 200 live in zoos. Today the natural habitat of the Indian Rhinoceros is confined to a few areas in Bhutan, southern Nepal, the Terai Arc Landscape and seven refuges in the two Indian states of West Bengal and Assam. The Indian rhinoceros is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.
In addition to habitat loss, the rhino population has been brought to close extinction by hunting, primarily for their horn. The rhino horn — in the powdered form — is highly valued in traditional Asian medicine, even though it has no proven medical benefit, since the horn mostly consists of keratin, which is also found in human fingernails and hair.
Captive breeding in (German) zoos
The small population in the wild underpins the necessity of conservation and captive breeding programmes to save this species from going extinct. In Germany Indian rhinos are kept in only five zoos. Both the parents of the recently born calf resides at Hellabrunn Zoo since 1990. While the bull came from Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart the female was born in Nepal. Therefore, mum is particularly important for the gene pool of Indian rhinoceroses living in zoos. And fortunately her genes have now been successfully passed on to the newborn bull.
With a shoulder height of up to 185 cm and weighing more than 2,000 kg, the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is the largest of the three species of Asian rhinoceroses. Unlike its two African relatives and the Sumatran rhinoceros, it has only one nasal horn (similar to the Javan rhinoceros), which can grow up to 20 cm. Indian rhinoceroses tend to rub their horn on the ground or on rocks, often resulting in the horn being worn down to a thick knob.
(Source: Hellabrunn Zoo news, 09.09.2015)