Six Black rhinos die of natural causes in Zambia's North Luangwa

All died within weeks of each otherDecember 2011: In a tragic blow, six black rhinos have died in Zambia in a period of just a few weeks.

The animals died from natural causes - but the age, sex and cause of all the deaths, which all happened in North Luangwa National Park, are all seemingly unrelated.

The Frankfurt Zoological Society's North Luangwa Conservation programme (FZS-NLCP) has convened an Emergency Rhino Forum and invited experts from across southern Africa to brainstorm and attempt to resolve why these deaths have all occurred in such a short space of time.

'We had been optimistic we were turning a corner...'A spokesmen for FZS-NLCP said: ‘It is with great sadness that we report these deaths. Until recently we were optimistic we were turning a corner with the new founder population.

‘We had experienced nine births and four deaths - all natural - up to that point and had a population of 30. Three of the females had become first time mothers in 2011. This was very positive news as one female had been in NLNP for five years without successfully breeding.

‘The tragedies began in late October when a female called Mwine Mpanga who had given birth three months earlier was sighted without her calf. No spoor was seen and the calf has not been found since.

It came down to the nutritional crunch‘Although we can't rule out predation or social aggressive interaction for a calf of this age, the most likely assumption is that this female stopped lactating during this difficult time of the year, just prior to the rains when vegetation and water resources are at their worst - a period we refer to as the nutritional crunch. Mwine was unable to sustain herself and the calf nutritionally and, as a consequence, the calf has died.

‘The second and third deaths were similar to the Mwine Mpanga situation in that a female, Buntungwa, had given birth three months earlier to a calf. This was the female who had been translocated to NLNP in 2006 and had not bred successfully in the five years since. We were very excited she'd had a calf and felt it was a positive endorsement from Buntungwa that things were going well. Her carcass was found in early November but the calf has not been found and is presumed dead.

‘It is speculated that Buntungwa simply tried too hard to support herself and the calf and with the nutritional crunch at its height, she was unable to survive.'

Young male was stumblng and injuredJust a few days later, came more bad news, when an 18-month-old male was seen stumbling and appeared to be injured. As he was still with his mother and suckling, it was felt leaving him with her would be the best thing to do. The following morning he was found dead with his mother standing over him. A post mortem examination revealed extensive injury and major trauma to the ribs and shoulders as a result of social aggressive interaction. Dominant rhino bulls are known to fend off sub-adults from females who are in oestrus and this young male died from his injuries.

Just a few days later a report came in regarding a female translocated to NLNP in 2010. She was found to be listless and lethargic and had rapidly deteriorated since a sighting two weeks earlier. She was treated for sleeping sickness and monitored closely over the next 48hrs. She had settled in a small gully and was too weak to stand but continued to eat the lucerne she was offered. An emergency vet was called to assess her condition but she had died by the following morning.

Hoping the disasters were over, conservationists were horrified to learn that a rhino's transmitter had been picked up emitting just 15 pulses per minute, indicating mortality. A ground team investigated and found the body of a 2006 translocated 14-year-old male. It was not possible to carry out an extensive post mortem due to the state of the carcass but evidence suggests he died as a result of fighting injuries.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/rhino-zambia.html