Zoopark: Rhino cow dies of pneumonia
Created: 2022-02-21Updated: 2022-02-21 13:53
Rhinoceros cow Marcita stands with her son Tayo (v) in her enclosure in Erfurt Zoo.
© ---/Thuringian Zoopark Erfurt/dpa/archive image
Endangered white rhinos were successfully bred in Erfurt for several years.
Then, at the beginning of February, there was a setback: within two days, two animals were dead in their enclosures.
A cause of death is now clear.
Erfurt – The 17-year-old rhino cow Marcita, who was again expecting offspring, died of severe pneumonia at the Thuringian Zoo in Erfurt.
That was the result of the pathological examination of the animal in Berlin, said zoo director Sabine Merz on Monday in Erfurt.
The examination of her 14-month-old son Tayo, who was found lifeless shortly before his mother, has not yet provided any information about the cause of death.
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Both white rhinos, which are critically endangered in the wild, had shown no signs of serious illness.
"We continue to grope in the dark as to what the causes of this could be," said Merz.
The investigations would continue.
The cub and its pregnant mother were found dead in their enclosures within two days of each other in early February.
Their cadavers were pathologically examined in two different institutions to clarify the cause.
Marcita was pregnant with a girl.
According to Merz, the zoo had great hopes of being able to continue breeding the rare animals, which has been running successfully for several years, and to form another breeding group with the female offspring.
Marcita's pneumonia and peritonitis were probably triggered by a pathogen that spread through her body at great speed.
Her liver was also damaged.
It is still unclear which pathogen could be responsible for her quick death.
A blood test the day before her death showed only slightly elevated levels of inflammation.
There is a "tendency towards a viral infection," said the zoo director.
But poisoning has not yet been completely ruled out.
Wild animals would try not to show weakness from an illness because, once free, they could quickly become prey for predators.
According to them, there was no night camera surveillance of the rhinos.
According to Merz, Tayo's pathological examination found only two small hemorrhages in the heart area.
A Covid 19 infection has already been ruled out for him.
"We will try everything to find out what caused the two animals to die." That is important - also for finding out about optimal housing conditions for the rare animals.
In addition to tissue samples, feed samples were also retained for the investigations.
International experts are involved in this.
"When it comes to rhinos, every individual counts worldwide," said Merz, who referred to increasing poaching in some regions of Africa.
Merz and the responsible city councilor, Matthias Bärwolff, confirmed that Erfurt wanted to keep rhino breeding.
The rhino outdoor enclosure will be rebuilt as planned from March.
Two bulls from the Thuringian Zoopark were given to other zoos last year to enable offspring there.
After the death of the little bull and his pregnant mother, Erfurt is currently without rhinos.
dpa
