From the News: Cincinnati-born Sumatran rhino sires calf

Cincinnati-born Sumatran rhino sires calf, furthers species' hope for survival

Sometimes it has got to seem like this blog requires two or three Sumatran rhino posts per month.  It is a ridiculous amount of attention that I give to one species, of which I have only ever seen one individual.  That being said, my encounter with Harapan, a few years back in Cincinnati Zoo, was one of the most significat moments in my career as a zookeeper.  It was there, in that behind-the-scenes tour of the rhino barn, that it really dawned on me that extinction was really happening all around us.  I knew it as an academic fact, but to actually touch an animal, and, while my hand was still on it, be told that it will almost certainly be gone in my lifetime?  That made an impression.

So after the bad rhino news from last month, I thought I'd counterbalance with some good rhino news.  Great rhino news, actually.  It's nice to see that, even without rhinos at their zoo anymore, Cincinnati is leaving a legacy of conservation for one of the planet's rarest animals.