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The Herd
Five black rhinos live at Fossil Rim in the Intensive Management
Area. Our SSP herd is currently the only group breeding within the
SSP program. Fossil Rim also holds additional males for breeding.
How They Behave
The black rhinos sleep off and on over a 24 hour period. They prefer
to hang out in the shade. They are kept in the barn at temperatures
below 35 degrees. We offer feed at 10 am every day, which they eat
all day and night. They supplement their rations by browsing on
plants in the yard. The rhinos are very tractable, a great advantage
for hands-on research tasks such as blood collection and ultrasound.
Captive mothers remain highly protective of young. They are nervous
if they sense something is wrong and can be very aggressive if disturbed.
Rhinos at Risk
Our work with black rhinos is part of an international effort to
save their species. In addition to breeding, we conduct research
that we hope will help increase the population. Continuous ultrasound
work is being done along with blood testing, diet testing, behavioral
research, semen collection and collaborative research between the
U.S., Africa, and Australia.
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