Black Rhinos: Touting Their Horns

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Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Ebony Money and I'm Rich Schwartz. Welcome to Amazing Wildlife, where we explore unique stories of wildlife from around the world and uncover fascinating animal facts. This podcast is a production of I Heart Radio and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, an international nonprofit contrivation organization behind the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. Today's show is dedicated to black rhinos, which are unfortunately critically endangered due mostly to the international trade and rhino horns. We'll address this problem as well as how San Diego Zoo Wildlfe Alliance is working with its partners to help secure wild populations of black rhinos and achieved population sustainability. But first, let's learn more about these amazing animals. Rick, there's something about rhinos that just looks ancient. How far back can scientists trace their existence? Well, I was going to say, I hope you're sitting down for this one, but you're sitting across room, so I know you are. So I'm glad you're sitting down for this one, Ebany, because believe it or not, fossil records show us that the oldest known ancestors of our modern rhinos that are living today. Well, they lived in the Eocene period, and that period started fifty six million years ago and concluded about thirty three point nine million years ago, so it's fair to say they've been here for a long time. Impressive, I was dis guessing. I feel smart. You are smart, Thank you. So there are five species of rhinos. What are the similarities that they share between them? Well, honestly, Ebany, I think at first glance, it might be hard to tell what's different. I mean, it seems like there's a lot that's similar of all five species. They're big, they're plant eating animals that are kind of gray in color. They have a horn or two, you know, so there's kind of a lot at first glance that's similar. And unfortunately, all of them share the fact that they are either critically endangered or threatened with extinction. And before we go on, I do want to share with every but the five different species of rhino are the jav and rhino, the Sumatran rhino, the greater one horned rhino sometimes called the Indian rhinoceros, the white rhino, and the black rhino. So now you're just showing off the Sumatran rhino. Would that be similar to the Sumatran tiger, which we've spoken about earlier. Yeah, so some of them are named by region as far as where they can be found, and some are are given other names for other reasons. But yes, the Sumatran rhino is found in similar habitat as the Sumatran tiger. Lets see my knowledge. So what distinguishes the black rhino from other rhino species? Well, I would bet that our listeners might expect me to say something like color. But oddly enough, both the black rhino and the white rhino are kind of gray in color. Now, there are some discrepancies on how they got their names, but it's not very clear. Not really a black and white answer if you will. However, to answer your question, the most obvious difference is the shape of their upper lip. White rhinos have a very wide, flat mouth, perfect for what they do, which is grazing and grazing and grazing with their head down in the grass. Where the black rhino their upper lip comes more to a point in its prehensile so this almost acts like an extended finger, and it gives them the ability to grasp. This is a perfect adaptation for what the black rhino does, which is browsing on leaves that grow on bushes, shrubs, and low lying tree branches. So I was also surprised to learn that a white rhino's head can weigh more than a thousand pounds. But then I saw rhinos close up at the San Diego Zoo and it became less surprising. Rhinos are huge. Can you give us a better picture of just how big and how heavy rhinos can be? Well, I know exactly what you mean, ebony. I mean, do you think about a thousand pounds for their head? That's comparable to the same weight of four full size refrigerators. These are not small animals, and I think we usually see rhinos at a distance, whether you see them in the wild or you see them at the zoo, They're they're not very close normally, so sometimes it's kind of hard to gauge their actual true size. But like you head, once you do get up close to one, you really get a whole new appreciation for their incredible size. And since you mentioned the weight of the white rhino's head, I'll give you some more fun numbers. Four thousand to five thousand, five hundred pounds is how much an adult white rhino can weigh and if you prefer the metric system, that's about a thousand, eight hundred to two thousands. And as impressive as that is for weight of a full size, hold on mamas, because here it comes. The birth of weight of a baby white rhino is hundred and thirty pounds or forty six So they start off big and they grow big, and and to give it kind of an idea, then on the height, if you were to stand next to a full grown white rhino, maybe some of our younger listeners might have a very hard time seeing over them because at the shoulder, which is where we usually measure animals standing on all fours at the shoulder, they can be four ft eleven inches up to five ft ten inches and for our metric loving friends, that's about one point five to one point eight meters. So these are big animals. So, Rick, how does the size and the strength of rhinos impact how specialists at the San Diego Zoo and in San Diego Zoo Safari Park how they care for the rhinos. Well, I mean, you know, we did just discuss their massive size, So you're talking about something that's as heavy as a pickup truck that has a mind of its own. And so with massive size, of course comes great strength, and we have to be very aware of that and respectful about how big and strong these animals really are. And to grow that large, well, they need to eat. So our wildlife specialists are challenged with making sure our rhinos get that meal and get this. They'll eat a hundred and ten about a hundred and twenty pounds of food every day. Wow, that's amazing when you think about it, a hundred and twenty pounds of food. That's really intense. Rick Today, conservationists estimate they're about six thousand black rhinos remaining in the wild. What has led to their dramatic decline. Yeah, this is the part that's kind of hard to talk about. But I'm really glad did you asked this? Because we need to make sure that everyone is aware of this. It's one of those things I think not everyone realizes what's going on. It's kind of weird to think about it, but it's because some people believe that there's some sort of magical or medicinal power in the horn of the rhino. So just to be clear, so everyone understands this, this is this is something that goes way back in a lot of cultures, and it's not just in one particular part of the world. The illegal importation of these horns occurs right here in the United States as well. Sometimes we buy trinkets, or there's little carvings out of horns. There might be a bowl or cup made out of the carving of a horn. All of those items eventually contribute, or they do contribute, directly to the demise of the rhino. I want everyone to understand, though, there's nothing magical or special about the horn, at least not once it's off the rhino. I think it's pretty magical with the rhino, but it's just keratin. It's made out of the same protein as your fingernails and hair. The horn grows out of what's essentially cuticle cells like you have for your fingernails. Is just on the face of the animal. In fact, if you get up really close, you can see, which I don't recommend by the way, lest share with the wildlife care specialists, but you can see in pictures at least the fibers of the horn looked just like a bunch of compressed hairs. It's so very important to dispel that inaccurate method exactly. So specifically, what is the status of the Black ryal population. Yeah, when we look at Black Roynald populations specifically, the most recent studies that are in place show a population that's just over three thousand one mature individuals, meaning these are full grown adults capable of reproduction. Now, if you count also the subadults and the younger individuals, that number does bump up to over five thousand. I want to get some perspective though, five thousand sounds like a fair amount. You know, it's pretty good. In the nineteen sixties across Africa, the population was around one hundred thousand and even more before that time. Unfortunately, the numbers dropped below two thousand, five hundred in the midnighteen nineties when poaching really was at its peak. And all of that said, now, I do want people to understand to day they are critically endangered. But the good news is their current population trend is going upward and it's our goal to keep that upward trend going. So what's being done, What conservation efforts are in place to ensure that the numbers don't go back down? Yeah, I think that's an important question. To ask because I think we hear these numbers going down, we hear that the loss of the population, it can kind of feel like a hopeless situation for the future of the species like the black rhino, and I want to make sure people understand there is hope things are turning around in Africa. There are many public and private groups helping to manage and protect the land where the black rhinos can be found. There are rangers who are diligent and protecting and preventing poaching, and the community. Community conservation is really a big deal. It's very important over there. That's when your local communities work with the local authorities and the rangers to keep the rhinos safe and do population counts and so much more so in nature. Black rhinos specifically are found from about Kenya down to South Africa. How local cultures perceived black rhinos, well, obviously I can't speak for everybody. Of course, you know that large reason Africa is huge. But at the same time, I can't say. When I spent time in Kenya visiting several different areas with rhinos, I personally experienced and talk to the local folks there, and they take great pride in having black rhinos in their area. They see conservation of the black rhino and other species as their personal responsibility, both to their ancestors and the future generations. And equally important, they know that the survival of the black rhino and other wildlife brings people from all over the world to come see them in their natural habitat, and so that really helps the local economy. So our conservation efforts connected. For instance, if a scientist figures out how to better protect one, can they use those same techniques and strategies to protect them all? Well, yeah, and that's really the big question. How do we perfect this conservation you know, and all the work we have to do. And what I mean by that is in the past we have been able to build off of p used conservation success, you know, with other species. And yes, we are very much hopeful that the work we're doing with rhino conservation today will benefit other species of rhinos in the near future. That's one of the many powerful things about conservation science. We can build on what we have already learned, and that means that what we're doing today can be the foundation for the work we're doing for tomorrow's wildlife conservation and coming up we'll talk more about the conservation work to help build a sustainable rhino population, but now it's time for this Sant Eagle Zoo wild Life Alliance Minute, an opportunity for you to learn what's new at the zoo. The first cloned black footed ferret just celebrated her first birthday. The effort that eventually produced Elizabeth Ann began in the nineteen eighties when scientists at Sant Eagle Zoo Wilfe Alliance sent tissue samples from blackfooted ferrets to be preserved in the Frozen Zoo, where tissues representing more than one thousand species are stored. Except for Elizabeth Ann, all blackfooted ferrets alive today are genetic descendants of just seven individuals. She was cloned from a wild faret that diet over thirty years ago. If she successfully reproduces her kits or her offspring will provide important genetic diversity to the population. An episode dedicated to the black but of farret will be available soon. Every year hundreds of rhinos are killed. That number spiked more than one thousand rhino deaths in South Africa. The demand and trade for rhino horns is the driver black rhinos are critically endangered. Violent conflict in the region where they're found has made protecting the species complex. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Chief Executive Officer Paul Barra Bold is here to tell us about efforts with our partners including Lois Saba Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy, Can You Wildlife Service in Space Vaginants to help develop a sustainable black rhino population. So how does San Diego Zoo Whilife Lions work with its partners on strategies to increase rhino populations. Well, Ebany, it's great to be with you here again. We are committed to securing wild populations black rhinos and achieving population sustainability. We've had eighteen black rhinos from two different subspecies born at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. We further work with conservation partners to eliminate threats to the black rhino by focusing on demand reduction, anti poaching, habitat protection, and scientific research to help stabilize population. So those births are an amazing achievement, but it's a major task. What are some of the reproductive challenges that rhinos face? Some of the issues rhino face and achieving healthy population include challenging diseases, low productive rates and uneven gender ratios. Having a limited healthy population of rhinos makes it challenging to preserve their genetic diversity for the future. Our Wildlife Biodiversity Bank, which includes the Frozen Zoo, has viable cell cultures from seventy eight black rhinos, which includes eleven living in Zimbabwe where we work with partners on an anti poaching strategy. Paub, please expand what is a frozen zoo? Our frozen Zoo is just remarkable. It's the largest and most diverse collection of animal DNA in the world. Think of it as the Norway Seed Bank for wildlife DNA. It contains over ten thousand living cell cultures, embryos and other genetic material. It's an invaluable resource for the future conservation and assisted reproduction, and it sounds like it's working. We have had several black rhino success stories. Can you tell us about Eric? Oh? Eric is a remarkable success story. He is the first Eastern black rhino born raised at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and is now living in Africa after a successful translocation in two thousand eighteen. Now there are a ton of logistics involved in his move, which involved two trucks, three different airplanes, traveling through five countries and across over ten thousand miles. He now lives in Tanzania, where conservationists hope he will be a key part of efforts to reintroduce endangered black rhinos to the Serengetti. So how did this come about? Why Eric? Why was he selected to make this big move? Well, Eric's genes are well represented across North America at as accredited zoos, creating a backup population for the WAD. But Eric's genes are not represented in Tanzania, so it only made sense for the future success of his species to have Eric aid in restoring the genetic diversity of the African black rhino population. And you mentioned translocation UM, which is a a major conservation strategy at work UM and for people who may not know it's it's actually groups are physically moving black rhinos from the place where maybe they're unprotected to a place where where they are protected, these protected sanctuaries. How is San Diego Zoo Wildlife Aliance helping in those efforts? Well, translocations of black rhinos have been an important conservation tool to expand populations by removing them, just as you said, from areas with high poaching risk to more secure locations. Our conservation scientists contributed in a number of ways to developing successful translocation methods, including preceding release sites with of all things, rhino doung in order to reduce aggression between existing residents and newly arrived black rhinos. There goes at waste conversation again, Paul. It has been great talking to you, um, But before you go, I'm sure everybody wants to know how is Eric doing well? San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance care specialists have traveled to Tanzania to visit and check in on Eric. Now, remember he was born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and raised in our care until he was eight years old, so our team has a deep connection there with him, and I'm happy to report that Eric is doing very well living amongst elephants and African antelope. That is fabulous news. Now this may be a silly question, but did Eric recognize the team? Did he recognize the wildlife care specialist? Our care team members form a really strong bond with the wildlife in our care and so whenever the team members meet up with those wildlife in the field. They always recognize them, so it's really special. Eric was absolutely able to recognize his care team. That is so heartwarming. That's a great story, great news. Thanks Paul, and that wraps up this week's episode featuring the Black Brno I'm Eppny Money and I'm Rick Schwartz. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and tune into next week's episode, where we discuss a special North American species that was once thought to be completely extinct but is now making a comeback. For more information about the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, go to sdz w a dot org Amazing Wildlife. As a production of I Heart Radio, our producer is Nikia Swinton, Our executive producer is Marcy de Pina. Our audio engineer and editor is Amina Ganatra. For more shows from My Heart Radio, check out the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.