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Ohio Zoo Attempts To Mate Female Rhino With Her Brother For Species Survival

Posted by samzenpus on from the worst-blind-date-ever dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Unfortunately for the Sumatran rhino the fate of the species may boil down to a plan by the Cincinnati Zoo to breed their lone female with her little brother. 'We absolutely need more calves for the population as a whole; we have to produce as many as we can as quickly as we can,' said Terri Roth, who heads the zoo's Center for Research of Endangered Wildlife. 'The population is in sharp decline and there's a lot of urgency around getting her pregnant.'"

2 of 272 comments (clear)

  1. I'd just like to know... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Forgive me, but I'd like to ask a reasonable, well thought-out question. From looking at the other threads, I feel it may be out of place here. Anyway...

    Do rhinos breed with siblings in the wild? I know some mammals do, and some don't.

    If rhinos do, then I don't see any problem with doing the same in captivity. They would be evolved to better handle the results of inbreeding.

    If they don't, then it seems not only unlikely to work (unless done artificially), but also unlikely to be a viable way to propagate the species.

  2. Funny by The+Cat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How people who are so thrilled with the idea of Darwinian survival are so concerned about extinction.

    The two are inextricably linked.