Image courtesy of Dr. Davide Guadagnini

We have an exclusive breaking news!
At Parco Faunistico Le Cornelle (IT) love has blossomed between two of the three Southern White Rhinos that resides there: Geraldine, affectionately known as “Shanny” and Pancho mated for the first time on 12 May 2019 around 10 AM. The whole process took almost 25 minuts. According to the expert eyes of both doct. Davide Guadagnini, Parco Faunistico Le Cornelle main Veterinarian, and Lars Versteege, the EEP Coordinator for Southern White Rhinos, the mating act seemed very promising!
We can’t wait to see if finally a baby rhino could arrive in Italy after years and years of non breeding situations for this species. As many of you know, Italy has just a few Southern White Rhinos (no Black or Indian ones) and unfortunately, none of them is in a breeding situation, due essentially to the old age of the remaining females. Parco Faunistico Le Cornelle is the ONLY Facility that has now, thanks to the arrival of male Pancho from Athens in 2018, a truly Breeding potential. The Facility has hosted since 2015 two young females, half-sisters Geraldine, born in 2009 in Hodenhagen (DE), and Lara born in 2011, also in Hodenhagen. The male Pancho, 11 years old, is of great genetical value: he has no full-siblings, only a half-brother (Zamba) from his father Simba and a half-sister (Natalia) from his mum Lulu. None of them is at the moment in a breeding situation!
According to Official sources, the observed mating act will be followed by Progesteron (the main pregnancy ormone) analisys. It can be misured using the feces contempts and/or through a blood test. If the first way is easier, it is not the case of Geraldine: the young lady does not like defecating outside so the Keepers do have some extra work trying to get her scents. So the real alternative is, for her, to misure the Progesteron through blood, but it is not so easy to draw blood from a Rhinoceros! Anyway, the Vet team is positive to obtain it: in fact, the three Rhinos are receiving a huge program of training in order to make them feel comfortable and still enough to undergo this procedure without any complication, for them in prims, but also for the Vet team operators. At the moment, as far as we know, the training sessions are going well, with the three Rhinos alternatively receiving the procedure.
The Traning Program and the trend of Progesteron in Geraldine’s blood (hopefully related to her pregnancy) will be the subjects of two Universitary Thesis developed in collaboration with the Veterinary Department of Università degli Studi di Parma (IT) and Università degli Studi di Milano (IT).
Moreover, the research work on Geraldine is not done yet, as Nutritionist Vets are studying a personalized diet for her: Geraldine is a little bit “chubbier” than the other two mates. This diet will help her to gain a perfect weight, really important for the hoped pregnancy, the parturition moment and the lattation period that will follow.

Here are exclusive videos of the mating act:

Kind courtesy of Dr. Davide Guadagnini