Tuesday, July 30, 2019

FROM DON COVINGTON


5 comments:

Chic Silber said...


Dear Don

As part of our family we wanted you to be among the first to know
that Victoria a Southern white rhino at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park
gave birth to her calf just before 6 p.m. last night!

He is the 186th rhino born at the Safari Park and the first
Southern white rhino born by artificial insemination

After 16 months of gestation Victoria's labor lasted only 30 minutes
Keepers prepared a maternity area for mom and baby cushioned by hay
and stood alongside veterinarians to welcome the new arrival
Shortly after getting used to his wobbly little legs he made his way
over to Victoria and started nursing
Weighing around 125 pounds at birth the calf will continue nursing
and gain up to 25 pounds per week for the first year!

On behalf of all of us at San Diego Zoo thank you for your continued support
Miracles like this aren't possible without you
You bring hope to these incredible animals and bring us closer
to saving them from extinction one rhino at a time!

Steve Metzler
Curator of Mammals
San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Don said...

The San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park are partners in a world wide effort to save rhinos from extinction. There are only two Northern White Rhinos left in the world (a third recently passed away at the San Diego Safari Park). San Diego Zoo Global's Frozen Zoo has Northern White Rhino cell lines that they hope to introduce in Southern White Rhinos in hopes of producing offspring. This recent birth through artificial insemination is an encouraging sign that the procedure has promise.

Don Covington

Jim Royal said...

Don,
Could this be a distant relative of Goliath who was on Carson & Barnes some years ago?

Richard Reynolds said...

They really need perfect this technology for use on the critically endangered Sumatran rhino whose numbers are said to be down to about 80. They were once not uncommon in circus menageries but that was long ago. In fact Ringling's first rhino was a Sumatran, obtained from the Bronx zoo for the 1903 season.

Don said...

Jim,

With the dwindling number of rhinos left in the world, they are now similar to circus families...everyone is related to everyone else in the business if you look hard enough.

Don Covington