“Indian rhinos are excellent swimmers and love to rest, eat and cool off in the water. They also like to wallow in the mud. On the one hand, this allows them to avoid annoying insects, on the other hand, water and mud are used for skin care,” said zoo director Stephan Hering- Hagenbeck.
“The new pond forms a natural barrier, giving our visitors a better, unobstructed view of these extraordinary animals,” announced the zoo director. Two Indian rhinos live in the zoo, which were brought back in 2006 as a state gift from the former Kingdom of Nepal Schoenbrunn came. In the same year, the 6,000 square meter rhino park was opened, which the two rhinos share with three other Asian species – Vietnamese sika deer, nilgai antelope and blackbuck antelope.
“It is a great pleasure to always be able to observe and support the modernization of the facilities in accordance with the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Tiergarten Schoenbrunn is a strong business location and also demonstrates an unbroken commitment to nature and species protection as well as research. The opening of the new rhino pond has again succeeded in getting visitors excited about the animal world and surprising them with impressive insights into the animal enclosures,” says Alexander Palma, head of the “Cultural Heritage” section at the Federal Ministry of Labor and Economy.
Already about 100 years ago Indian rhinos were considered almost extinct. In addition to the loss of habitat, hunting for their horns was their undoing. “Thanks to extensive conservation efforts, the stocks in India and Nepal have increased again, but even today, Indian rhinos are considered highly endangered. Their occurrence is limited to protected habitats and zoos,” explained Hering-Hagenbeck. In Schoenbrunn background information on the Indian rhinos, their way of life and the threats in their natural habitat will be presented daily at the commented feedings at 2 p.m.
Source: Nachrichten
