Rhino Signature Project

Saving Rhinos

Although most people think “Africa” when they hear “rhino” Asian rhinos are more endangered than the African species. In the past, CREW scientists focused on two of these Asian species, the Sumatran rhino and greater one-horned (GOH) rhino. They succeeded in unraveling the mysteries of breeding Sumatran rhinos in managed care while developing artificial insemination for producing genetically valuable GOH rhino calves. However, the landscape has changed, and the deadly poaching epidemic that started in Africa in 2008 now imperils all rhino species. Therefore, CREW’s conservation research efforts are increasingly important for ensuring that all rhinos thrive, including those in our zoos. Our most recent project – the American Institute of Rhinoceros Science (AIRS) is a bold initiative aimed at doing exactly that.

American Institute of Rhinoceros Science (AIRS)

CREW is partnering with The Wilds, Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment, George Mason University, the South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction & Conservation, and Stellenbosch University, South Africa, on a new, big initiative, taking rhino science and collaboration to a new level while helping to save rhinos from extinction.

Sumatran Rhino Breeding Program at the Cincinnati Zoo

After years of research, scientists at Cincinnati Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW), led by Dr. Terri Roth, unraveled the mysteries of Sumatran rhino reproduction and, in 2001, Andalas was born. He was the first calf bred and born in any zoo in the world in 112 years. In 2004, his sister, Suci, was born, and in 2007, Harapan arrived.  Between 2001 and 2012, the Cincinnati Zoo held the distinction as the only place successfully breeding this endangered species.  The Zoo partnered with Indonesian and Malaysian colleagues to transfer knowledge and techniques so that they too could succeed.  In 2007, the Cincinnati and Los Angeles Zoos agreed to send Andalas to the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS). That sacrifice on the part of the LA Zoo, where Andalas was living at the time of his transfer, paid off in spades in 2012 when Andalas’ healthy son was born in Sumatra.

Since then, Andalas sired a calf in 2016 and another in 2023.  His elder two have now produced calves, and Harapan is the father of the one born on November 25, 2023.

The Cincinnati Zoo works closely with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, the Indonesian Rhino Foundation, the IUCN Asian Rhino Specialist Group and the International Rhino Foundation, to protect this species in the wild and also propagate Sumatran rhinos in zoos.