Ol Pejeta gets white rhino in breeding plan

A female Northern White Rhinoceros walks inside its pen at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. A Southern white rhino male has been introduced into the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia. PHOTO/FILE

What you need to know:

  • As the only two fertile male Northern white rhinos left in the world, a huge amount of funding, hoping and praying has been channelled into these ‘boys’ to produce a new generation of the world’s most endangered mammal with the two female Northern white rhino’s Najin and Fatu.
  • It was hoped that the lush climate and rich grasslands of Ol Pejeta, similar to the native habitat of this species would be suitable for breeding.

A Southern white rhino male has been introduced into the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia.

It is hoped that it will mate with the world’s only remaining two Northern white rhinos.

This is after the two male Northern white rhinos, which have been living with their two female Northern white rhinos, failed to sire as expected in two years despite mating on numerous occasions.

Ol Pejeta’s chief executive, Mr Richard Vigne, said this was aimed at ‘easing’ the pressure that Sudan and Suni (the two male rhinos) have had on their three-tonne rhino shoulders over the past few years.

“As the only two fertile male Northern white rhinos left in the world, a huge amount of funding, hoping and praying has been channelled into these ‘boys’ to produce a new generation of the world’s most endangered mammal with the two female Northern white rhino’s Najin and Fatu,” he observed.

On December 20, 2009, the four Northern white rhinos were airlifted from Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic to Ol Pejeta after all previous breeding attempts in the zoo failed.

TOO PAMPERED TO BREED

It was hoped that the lush climate and rich grasslands of Ol Pejeta, similar to the native habitat of this species would be suitable for breeding.

“These four are arguably the most pampered rhinos in the world; with 24-hour armed security, a 700-acre enclosure, and rations of nutritious goodies every evening to keep them in the best of shape. But it seems that all this pampering, although keeping them safe and healthy, is just not enough to warrant a little bundle of Northern white joy.

“Expectations were raised when Suni was seen mating with Najin in 2012, but as the gestation period of 16 months wore on, we faced up to the fact that Najin was not pregnant,” said Mr Vigne.

“If all goes well, an equivalent breeding strategy will be implemented for the Northern white males, with Southern white females,” he added.
The Ol Pejeta sanctuary is home to 61 black rhinos and is run as a not-for-profit organisation.

The CEO said that a male Southern White rhino will be introduced to the two Northern White females, with the objective of getting them pregnant.

If this works, the hope is that the two females can produce several offspring through ‘intercrossing’ the subspecies in this way.

This would enable the ‘new’ Northern-Southern crossbreds adapt important local genes helping them to evolve within thereby increasing proportion of genes of a locally adapted healthy White Rhino population when the interbreeds are finally ‘purified’.

Ol Pejeta added that a fine and fertile Southern White male has been selected from neighbouring Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and will be introduced into the females’ enclosure this week.