Still hoping for breeding success
December 2011: There are just seven northern white rhinos left in the world - but work at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya is underway to try to ensure that they successfully breed and Wildlife Extra has been following the fortunes of males Sudan and Suni and mum and daughter Najin and Fatu closely.
In our last update in September, Suni, Fatu and Najin were sharing an enclosure while Sudan had five southern white rhino females for company in his big enclosure. But Najin and Fatu have now been coaxed out of their boma into Sudan's 700-acre enclosure.
Najin didn't need to be persuaded for long and moved out quickly. Fatu, on the other hand, was hesitant but eventually followed her mother into the big enclosure. The girls seemed to enjoy the vast open spaces and spent a lot of time roaming their new surroundings. However, after a while it became clear that Najin was extremely protective of her daughter and was getting in the way of Sudan's advances towards Fatu.
Happy to have some company
The team decided to move Najin back to the small enclosure so Fatu and Sudan had a chance to get closer.
Two weeks later, Najin was reunited with Suni in her old enclosure. Suni seems happy to have some company and is showing great interest in Najin. He makes loud grunting noises whenever she is nearby and keepers are hopeful they will mate soon.
So far Fatu and Sudan have not yet shown any interest in each other. Fatu is shy and tends to stay away from the group especially the southern white females.
It is hoped the Fatu-Sudan and Najin-Suni pairs will have some proper chemistry. And that chemistry will lead to successful mating, increasing the breeding changes for these few remaining northern white rhinos.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/rhino-romance.html#cr
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