San Francisco's black rhino, oldest in North America, is 45
Source: AP
By JANIE HAR
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The San Francisco Zoo celebrated the 45th birthday of the oldest black rhinoceros in North America with a special cake of rolled oats and molasses.
The exact date of Elly's birth isn't known, as she was born in the wild. But she has lived at the zoo since April 1974.
Zookeepers on Friday prepared a "sweet feed" of oats and molasses that read "45," said zoo spokeswoman Nancy Hayden Crowley.
Elly has given birth to 14 calves, helping preserve a critically endangered species that numbered 200,000 before 1960 throughout parts of Africa. The number has dwindled to 3,000 to 5,000, due to poaching for their horns, said zoo curator Jim Nappi.
FULL story at link.
This photo provided by the San Francisco Zoo shows Elly as the zoo celebrates the 45th birthday of the oldest black rhinoceros in North America, on Friday, Jan. 1, 2016, in San Francisco. The exact date of Elly's birth isn't known, as she was born in the wild. But she has lived at the zoo since April 1974. Elly has given birth to 14 calves, helping preserve a critically endangered species.(San Francisco Zoo via AP)
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fb8b0e05ee95499d9f74270af342166a/san-franciscos-black-rhino-oldest-north-america-45
840high
(17,196 posts)Mosby
(16,252 posts)shenmue
(38,506 posts)Hope she doesn't drink and drive.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Amazing. She might almost single hoofedly save her species from extinction!
Lucky Luciano
(11,248 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)shenmue
(38,506 posts)catbyte
(34,326 posts)A lifetime in captivity, kidnapped as a baby, they probably killed mom right in front of her. We humans suck. Sorry, I just can't celebrate a life lived on concrete. Of course, she probably would've been killed by poachers for her horn so that Chinese men can keep their schlong up--which doesn't even effing work. Yeah, we suck.
Sorry to be a buzzkill, but now I know what "captured in the wild" really means and it's brutal. At least she's safe, I guess.
Again, sorry.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Yes, we humans suck. Hopefully enough of the genepool can be saved for a time when humans stop hunting animals to extinction.