Rhinos Move across the Street
Posted at 3:00 pm August 27, 2009 by Laura Weiner
Soman and Surat enjoy back scratches from Backstage Pass participants.
I knew he would be nervous if he heard or saw anything that startled him, so we put him in the crate at 7 a.m. Surat was still quite suspicious of me when I called him in that early. He always likes to hang out at the entrance to the crate and try to stretch his head and neck in as far as possible to get treats without actually coming in. With much patience on my part, Surat made his way all the way into the crate. A fellow keeper was ready at the door to quickly close him in. Immediately, Surat backed up and started trying to get out. My job was to sit at his head and try to help him feel more comfortable. Even though he was very excited and not happy to be locked in, he was still eating the hay and pellets on the floor of the crate. Rhinos like to make a big deal about things, but he wasn’t fooling me. If he was eating, he couldn’t be too unhappy!
Soman was better at having the door closed behind him, so he was a bit easier. He was still unhappy with the permanent closing and also banged around in the crate. Both of them were secured in their crate with metal drop bars behind them and doors on the front. They were lifted with a forklift and driven the short distance around the corner to the former elephant barn. You can imagine that with a rhino bobbing its head in the crate, it made for a bumpy ride for rhino and forklift driver!
The crate was placed into the hallway, the metal drop bars removed, and each rhino had to back out of the crate into the barn. They each did quite well, considering the circumstances. There was definitely a lot of huffing, puffing, and snorting, but they each made it into a stall in the barn. When we put them back together, Surat was pushing Soman around, which was a different behavior for him.
They were given access to the exhibit that day but had no desire to go outside. The next day, they ventured out into their new home and haven’t looked back. If you have stopped by the Urban Jungle zone lately, you may wonder where they are. Take a look into the deep elephant pool and you’ll find the boys lounging. These stars of the Zoo’s new Backstage Pass adventure certainly live up to their reputation!
Laura Weiner is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
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August 27th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
rhino’s is sensitive animals too! glad they made it there safely…any reason why they were moved?
I think every big animals should have a camera so we can watch them
August 28th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Thank You Laura,
Sounds like these two ’stars’ are settling into their new home happily and quite well. They are amazing and so sensitive–and also full of a lot of huff and puff and bluster! All of your patience and positive influence in their training has given them a security and trust they so need. I will be sure to look into that pool when next I visit the zoo.
Blessed Be With Love, judy j
August 28th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Hi Lid,
Yes, rhinos are sensitive animals. They have great hearing and poor eyesight so they react accordingly. To answer your question, they were moved across the street because we had a huge empty elephant exhibit. With the opening of Elephant Odyssey, there was a great rhino exhibit just waiting for them across the street. They have been enjoying running around chasing each other in the early evening and lounging in the large elephant pool in this summer heat. It has been great for them!
August 28th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I had to laugh when I read you post. the song that comes to my mind is ” don’t fence me in ” ( actually, don’t lock me in” give me land, lots of land in the country that I love, don’t fence me in!!!!!! ha ha! I can just visualize their banging, huffing & puffing & then eating in their crates. funny! I think surat took his frustration out on his brother soman when they got to their new home!! it probably made him feel better to release some frustration somewhere; and, soman just happened to be there. ta da! siblings!!!! funny!
thanks for keeping us up-dated on the armored brothers.
August 29th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
thanks Laura for the answers!
Oh my a big pool of mud to play in !! they will be sooo happy! rhinos love mud bath….lol @ “If he was eating, he couldn’t be too unhappy!” ..he just want to show you whos boss
August 30th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Is the zoo going to bring a female, now that they are in a bigger place??
August 31st, 2009 at 11:11 am
We will most likely be sending both of the males to other zoos at some time in the future. They are related to the females up at the Wild Animal Park, so they would be going to meet some other non-related female. But hopefully no time soon! I would miss them too much.
August 31st, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Laura, it sounds like your hard work paid off, and now that they are situated in “heaven” the brothers will be forgiving and trust you again.
I imagine with the recent hot weather in CA they really appreciated the deep elephant pools. I was surprised to hear that they were in the old elephant area. I think you mean SDZ elephant area that was vacated when Elephant Odyssey was opened. Once again new areas mean that older ones can be refurbished and used as expanded areas for other animals, allowing them more room, and the enrichment of new surroundings.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:17 am
Hi Laura,
When you say that you will most likely be sending these males to other zoos, will you be splitting them up or sending them together? Will you be replacing them?
I loved the story of the move. Believe it or not it reminds me of my blind cat who has excellent hearing. He is so sensitive because he can’t see what is making a noise and if it is loud, it freaks him out. I would think it is the same thing for these boys…..
September 4th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Hi Molly,
They would most likely each go to a separate zoo with a female waiting for them. And if and when they go ,there would most likely be another young male Indian rhino up at the Wild Animal Park who is too old and needs to be separated from his mom. All of this is probably way down the line. Our last male, Gram, left when he was 8 years old, so that could mean another 4 years for Soman. But you never know where and when they will be going. We’ll just have to wait and see. As long as they are at the San Diego Zoo, I do my best to care for them and keep them healthy and happy.