A vaccine now reduces risk of leptospirosis, but dietary accumulation of iron to toxic levels remains an ongoing management concern. Diseases, including the bacterial infection leptospirosis and iron storage disorder, have impacted black rhinos in zoos.
Our Conservation Genetics team has conducted research into the evolutionary diversification of black rhinos and identified variation in chromosomal patterns indicative of limited gene flow that support subspecies designations. Eleven black rhinos were sampled in Zimbabwe when rhino de-horning was being tested as an anti-poaching strategy, resulting in the successful establishment of frozen cell cultures.
Our Frozen Zoo® includes viable cell cultures from 78 black rhinos, including animals born in the wild. Eighteen black rhinos belonging to two different subspecies have been born at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park and educating the public about the plight of all rhinos is a high priority for us. Together with our partners, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is committed to securing wild populations of black rhinos and achieving population sustainability. In addition, disease, low reproductive rates, and uneven sex ratios all serve to restrict the ability of rhino populations to achieve desired growth rates and preserve genetic diversity for the future. Civil unrest and armed conflict have made effective protection of the species very difficult. The international trade in rhino horn is the main cause of the decline of the black rhino. Threats to survival: Poaching habitat loss and fragmentation disease Challenges for Wild Populations
Conservation Status: IUCN Red List - Critically Endangered
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