White rhino husbandry training, ultrasound and research at Hamilton
Zoo
1
S Kudeweh1, C Morrow2, A Gore3
Hamilton Zoo, Brymer Rd, Hamilton; ASMP Coordinator Southern white rhino
2
Scimitar ScientificAnimal 3Health Centre, Morrinsville
email [email protected] (Samantha Kudeweh)
Abstract
With a recent focus on research and advances in monitoring tools such as ultrasound, a consistent
and comprehensive animal training program is an essential tool for the management of rhino.
In early 2008 Hamilton Zoo began performing regular rectal ultrasound exams of our 3 adult female
white rhino, in conjunction with our longstanding faecal hormone monitoring program. This
monitoring has shown some interesting results:
• Evidence of a regular seasonal anoestrus period in one female
• An early pregnancy slippage confirmed by ultrasound – without the ultrasound exam we
would have missed this conception and assumed this was an example of an abnormal ‘long
phase’ reproductive cycle
• A long period of anoestrus followed by a spontaneous restart of a reproductive cycle and
subsequent conception
This year we have also been heavily involved in Beaux Berkeley’s study into the relationship
between nutrition and sex determination. This research required half-day sessions monitoring blood
glucose levels, with multiple blood collections from each rhino.
Critical to these projects is a consistent husbandry training program. Maintaining white rhino at a
good level of comfort in a training chute enables these tractable animals to be conditioned relatively
quickly to accept sometimes invasive or complicated procedures.
1. Husbandry training
Since their arrival in 1999 all white rhino at Hamilton zoo have had some form of daily husbandry
training. The programs current focus is to maintain a high standard of basic training on which more
specific behaviours can be built as required.
Training includes
• Desensitising to numbers of people, vehicles and machinery moving around them while
closed into the training chute
• Regular hosing and scrubbing sessions
• Backing up away from gates on voice cues
• Tourniquets applied to ears routinely and periodic blood draws
• Holding up feet
• Taking hormone monitoring faecal samples direct from the animals rectums
It is essential that we keep this training as a core part of the daily routine. This ensures the animals
are well used to accepting a variety of procedures in the crush, and that learning and responding to
cues are a normal part of their lifestyle.
2009 Proceedings of the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria Conference
Sea World, Gold Coast
As a result of this husbandry training we have been able to participate fully in the recent study by
Beaux Berkeley (Victoria University) into circulating blood glucose, as part of her thesis
investigating birth sex ratio bias. This involved several days’ worth of serial blood sampling (every
30 to 40 mins) from every adult rhino to study the changes in blood glucose over time. All animals
participated well in every session.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Figures 1-3: Routine daily husbandry training including tourniquet applied to ear, hosing
and evacuating faeces from rectum.
2009 Proceedings of the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria Conference
Sea World, Gold Coast
2. Faecal hormone monitoring
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Figure.
2:
Corticosterone
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during Nov
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(7:30-10:30),
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in01January
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+/in bold02is
sample size.
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2009 Proceedings of the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria Conference
Sea World, Gold Coast
Jan
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Faecal Progestogen
(log ng/g)
Faecal Progestogen (ng/g)
Ongoing hormone profiles have been kept on all female rhino since each arrived at Hamilton zoo
(see examples below). To date this information has been used to confirm and monitor several
pregnancies, track periods of anoestrus and the restart of cycles, and investigate ‘long-phase’ (60 –
75 day) oestrus cycles. Matching our faecal hormone profiles with what we physically saw in rectal
ultrasound exams, we noticed that what we would have considered a ‘long-phase’ cycle in studbook
1353 ‘Kito’ in February 2008 actually coincided with an early pregnancy loss (Fig 5). This led us to
consider the possibility of other long cycles such as those seen in the first 3 years after arrival in
studbook 1357 ‘Moesha’ being undetected early pregnancy losses also (Fig 6).
#1357 Moesha
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Figures 4-7: Faecal progestogen profiles for individual females.
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Indicates long-phase
cycles. Pregnancy concentrations are on log scale.
3. Ultrasound exams
In July 2007 we began a transrectal ultrasound project for all our females, with the initial aim of
investigating the anoestrus status of studbook 1357 ‘Moesha’. With the arrival of a new male and a
change in management, this female spontaneously started cycling again and conceived that year (Fig
7). Our focus then changed to monitoring pregnancies and further developing local skills in rhino
ultrasound towards viewing the whole reproductive tract. Animal training for this process involved
desensitising the animals to having faeces evacuated from their rectums, then a gloved arm and a
model ultrasound probe inserted into their rectums. We also mocked up a box to look like the
ultrasound screen, and ensured there was a variety of equipment and people around the area as there
would be on the day. All three rhino females proved quick to condition to this process and we were
soon able to perform regular ultrasound exams on all three.
Figure. 9: Ultrasound exam in
progress.
Figure. 10: Ultrasound still photo of 57
day old rhino foetus.
2009 Proceedings of the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria Conference
Sea World, Gold Coast
(log ng/g)
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Faecal Progestogen (ng/g)
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4. Conclusions
A consistent training program should be a routine part of White rhino husbandry in this region. This
benefits the animals as enrichment, maintains health monitoring and the potential for early
intervention if necessary, and enables more specific procedures or behaviours to be introduced easily
when required.
A training program should include desensitising the animals to a variety of stimulation around the
training area, and to changeable routines and people. Include visitors, students, volunteers etc during
training sessions; allow vehicles, machinery and other work to continue in the near vicinity,
gradually building up the levels the animals are comfortable with.
The opportunities and requirements for research in this species are ongoing and varied. As
responsible animal managers we should be ready to participate in relevant opportunities for
advancing our knowledge and improve our management techniques.
Combining two monitoring techniques (faecal hormone profile and ultrasound) has given us a clearer
view of some female’s reproductive cycles. One event we would have classed as a long phase cycle
appeared instead to be an early pregnancy loss, and leads to the suggestion that other long phase
examples detected may be similar events.
2009 Proceedings of the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria Conference
Sea World, Gold Coast