Rhinos sniff freedom at last

Three-year international trek ends in a Chinese forest for endangered species brought from south africa

Two of six rhinos transferred from Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, late last month to a national park 400 kilometers away have been released into the wild, a move aimed at eventually rebuilding a home for a species that vanished in Southwest China 80 years ago. Authorities expect there will be a rhino group in the wild in three to five years.

It was originally planned to transfer seven rhinos from Yunnan Wild Animal Park in Kunming to Taiyanghe National Park in Pu'er, 420 kilometers away, on March 30. But one reacted strongly against being transported and was left in Kunming. The seven rhinos were from a group of nine that were brought from South Africa in 2010.

When the six rhinos arrived in Taiyanghe National Park on March 31, breeders working for the wild animal park supplied them with water taken from Kunming to forestall maladjustment to the local water.

The youngest of the rhinos became agitated when breeders tried to unload it from the transport but was cajoled and eventually appeased with the aid of a healthy helping of green grass.

The following day two of the rhinos were released into the wild on a trial basis, and the others remain in captivity. Once the breeders are satisfied they are accustomed to their freedom, others will be released.

The rhinos' saga goes back to 2009, when Yunnan Wild Animal Park decided to reintroduce rhinos from South Africa jointly with the park in Pu'er. After a year of talks, South Africa sold nine rhinos to Yunnan.

In July 2010 seven of them, at an average age of 3, and which had lived in the South African wild, arrived at Yunnan Wild Animal Park, and they were kept in an area inaccessible to visitors.

Experts believed they could be released back into the wild after two years and eight months of adapting to the local environment.

Asian rhinos like ones that used to live in Pu'er still exist, but there are very few, says Li Li, a spokeswoman for Yunnan Wild Animal Park.

"So it would have been difficult to bring in Asian rhinos. The other thing is that Yunnan's climate is similar to South Africa's, so African rhinos would be able to survive here."

Tang Yangchun, deputy general manager of Yunnan Wild Animal Park, says her park turned to South Africa for help because of its many rhinos in the wild.

Pu'er ceased to be a habitat for rhinos in 1933 when the last two were hunted down and killed. Tang says animal experts at a symposium in Kunming four years ago concluded that it was possible to build a rhino population in Pu'er.

Because rhinos are herbivores they would have negligible impact on the local environment, Tang says.

"Rhinos only eat grass and don't hurt people or other animals as long as they are not attacked."

Jiang Xuelong, a researcher at Kunming Institute of Zoology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, says that because few Chinese have the chance to go to other countries to see rhinos, establishing rhino groups in China will raise awareness about humans, animals and nature living in harmony.

Qian Fuchun, who used to breed deer, was one of the first to see the rhinos when they arrived in China.

Qian says the first glimpse was frightening. "Compared with humans, a 4-year-old rhino is already huge, and its horn was enough to scare anyone. They don't look particularly attractive either."

The rhinos, afraid of wooden walls, had charged into fences, he says.

No one could approach them in the first two months, and several breeders quit. As time went on, the rhinos became less aggressive, and one day when he touched the tail of one of them it did not react in hostility but instead shook its tail coquettishly as if to ask for more grass.

After three months as the animals became more tame, Qian and his colleagues were able to climb on their backs and ride them for a minute or so.

The three male and four female rhinos were divided into small "families" so that they would propagate when released into the wild, Qian says.

Usually, large herbivores must be injected with tranquilizers before being loaded for transport. However, because of the potential side effects, the breeders decided to gradually acquaint the rhinos with the cages, when tailored cages were taken to the animal park on March 19.

Liu Chunbiao, another breeder, says rhinos like to be tickled and he did that on the long trip to keep them at ease.

Li Yingqing contributed to the story.

Contact the writers at huyongqi@chinadaily.com.cn and guoanfei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/05/2013 page20)