Harapan , America ’s most eligible Sumatran rhino bachelor , is relocating to Indonesia in search of a Ilex paraguariensis . As the last of his coinage to last in the U.S. , his dear life has been of great interest to conservationists . A few years ago , the Cincinnati Zoo where Harapan was bear and call down announced they would be making an effort to breed him with his sister Suci . This was the zoo ’s last endeavor to keep up their25 - year - oldSumatran rhino breeding program , which had been slowly dying along with the metal money ' dwindling population . But in March 2014 , Suci succumbed toIron Storage Diseasewithout bring forth any issue . Harapan , one of just a hundred or so Sumatran rhino live today , suddenly became the last of his kind in the westerly hemisphere .
At one point in history , the Sumatran rhino population was widespread throughout southeasterly Asia . By the early eighties they had belittle to just a few hundred animate being scattered across Malaysia and a few Indonesian islands . A handful of rhinos were brought into imprisonment as a precaution against extinction , but lamentably , several perished from injury and disease .
Those who did survive in enslavement present a whole new set of challenges when in came to fostering . It turns out Sumatran rhino are maddeningly complicated when it comes to sexual practice , which may be contributing to their dire situation in the wild . If a female person is n’t get pregnant on a regular basis , this could direct to issues such as uterine cysts , which can cause infertility . And to further sum to this vicious cycle , females will only ovulate if they sense a male is nearby .
It was only after the squad at the Cincinnati Zoo made these discoveries that they were able-bodied to successfully breed three rhino calf — one of which was Harapan , which means “ hope ” in Indonesian .
Harapan ’s other sibling , Andalas , has since been sent to a fostering facility in Indonesia where he ’s successfully bring forth one calfskin . In light of the recent discovery that Sumatran rhinos are now out in the wild in Malaysia , eight - year - sometime Harapan will be his sidekick ’s way of life in an effort to rescue the coinage .
The fosterage quickness where he ’ll make his new abode is locate in Way Kambas National Park on the island of Sumatra . Due to all the conservation laws smother the species , several permits are require from both the U.S. and Indonesian government before he can be shipped away . Once he arrives , conservationists are desire he ’ll collide with it off with a female name Rosa who has been living in the Mungo Park since the early 2000s . Terri Roth , the vice President of the United States for conservation and skill at the Cincinnatti Zoo , has faith in Harapan ’s witching power . accord to Roth , “ He ’s a really fun rhino . He seems like a little snatch of a handgun , quite frankly . "
[ h / t : National Geographic ]
