Potter Park Zoo (Michigan, USA) has announced that Eastern Black Rhino Doppsee, 12 years old, is believed to be pregnant! It’s a fantastic achievement obtained among the Usa Eastern Black rhino metapopulation.

As many of you remember, in April 2017 Potter Park welcomed a male rhino, Phineus, as a potential mate for the resident Doppsee (that has been all alone since 2015, when the previous male, Jello, died because of a neurological problem). The Park hoped to breed the pair in the months to come and they monitored closely Doppsee’s cycle through carefull observations of both Rhino’s behaviour, in order to established safely when the two animals were ready to breed. The two were introduced succesfully to each other three times: in May, in June and finally in August 2018. It took many motnhs of training sessions to make Doppsee calm enough to perform rectal explorations and ultrasounds but finally the Zoo Vet was able to spot fluid in Doppsee’s uterus. That means that there are some changes in the uterine micro-environment, positive for a new rhino on the way. Even if no fetus was spotted, the zoo is really confident that Doppsee is expecting her very first calf!

We are not sure about Doppsee due date. It is believed to be at the end of 2019.

You can see Doppsee and Phineus’s video of their interactions here.