With The African Forest opening in December, the Houston Zoo will once again be home to white rhinos. We have a trio (2 females and a male) coming to us in just a few weeks from Africa. But how do we get them here? This series is being transmitted to us from the road (and sky) by Staff Curator and Blogger Beth Schaefer. Beth is part of a small group of Houston Zoo staff who are shepherding the rhinos return to the Houston Zoo. It all begins here!
One of the 3 White Rhinos awaiting our team
If you read the last issue of Wildlife, the Houston Zoo’s member’s magazine, you may have seen the article written by our director, Rick Barongi, outlining what it takes to transport rhinos from Africa to Houston. Now it’s time to put that plan into action. The rhinos are on their way!
Although this kind of transport takes an enormous team effort, four of us are lucky enough to have been chosen to travel to Africa to bring these amazing animals home. Our group consists of myself, Beth Schaefer, Curator of Natural Encounters and Sea Lions, Laurie McGivern, Hoofed Stock Supervisor, Joe Kalla, Vice President of Operations, and Dr. Joe Flanagan, Director of Veterinary Services.
Several people looked quizzical when I said I’d been chosen for this task (much as we would love to have the rhinos at Natural Encounters, the building might be a bit crowded with three rhinos in it!). When it was apparent that we would be expecting another baby elephant at the same time that the rhinos were coming, it meant Darryl Hoffman, Curator of Large Mammals, was going to be a wee bit busy and could not make the trip. I drew the winning straw since I had rhino experience from a previous institution, and so packed my bags!
It’s quite a convoluted process: Laurie and I are headed over to start acclimating the rhinos to their travel containers and the training procedures that we use here at HZI. Laurie will head home next week to make sure all the preparations are finalized with the new barn, while I will be joined by Joe Kalla and Dr Flanagan for the actual transport home.
For Dr. Joe, Joe Kalla and myself, this means traveling through Amsterdam on our way to South Africa to take a course that‘s required before you can fly on a cargo plane. The three of us will actually be in the hold of the plane with our rhino trio as we travel back to Houston. No doubt it will be quite an adventure!
Written by Beth Schaefer
Accompany Beth and the others on this wild adventure over the next few weeks! Check back right here on the Official Houston Zoo blog for her next installment.
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WOW! THAT IS AWESOME! BE SAFE!