Female rhinoceros from Taiwan to Tokyo to save the species

(ANSA) - TOKYO, June 10 - Three months late on the roadmap, due to the health emergency caused by the coronavirus, Emma, ​​a female white rhino, has finally arrived in Japan, coming from Taiwan, to search for a mate, in attempt to preserve the species at risk of extinction. The five-year-old specimen has been transferred to the Tobu Zoo in Saitama, north of Tokyo, where he will meet the local rhino, Moran, twice his age, hoping to improve the genetic diversity of the species. The attempt is the result of the consolidated experience of Taiwan's Leofoo Safari Park, which in just over 40 years has managed to create a herd of 23 rhinos, starting with the eight imported from Africa in the late 1970s. Program director, Sean Wu,explained that Emma was chosen for her docile character and leaner physique - with a 'smaller' size, factors that facilitated her transport. Unlike other rhinos that exceeded two tons in tonnage, in fact, Emma weighs about 680 kilos, and has a length of two and a half meters.

    For a couple of weeks the mammal will be accessible to the Tokyo public, and will undergo a crash course in understanding the commands in Japanese, to facilitate its acclimatization. Breeding in zoos has proved to be fundamental for the maintenance of the white rhinoceros species. To date, just 19 thousand specimens exist in nature, mostly in southern Africa, after having risked extinction in the last century. The species of Asian rhinos, on the other hand, present in Java and Sumatra, do not exceed 100 units each. Poachers hunt these animals to be able to remove the horn, which is in great demand in some Asian countries such as Vietnam and China, and widely used in oriental medicines because they are considered curative and harbingers. (HANDLE).