Jhansi, born at San Diego Safari Park in 1990 and moved to Berlin in 1994, rolled into the Polish capital overnight, Warsaw Zoo said on Tuesday.
The female has produced four calves, including Jacob, who lived in Warsaw until his death this January. Jacob and Shikari raised three sons; since his passing, Shikari has been alone – until her “mother‑in‑law” arrived.
“In real life, mothers‑in‑law and daughters‑in‑law can clash, but we hope our girls will get along,” said Patrycja Kasprzak, head of the zoo’s elephant‑and‑rhino section.
The 2.5‑ton animals will start in neighboring stalls. If they tolerate each other “over the fence,” keepers will gradually let them share a yard.
Neither will breed again – Jhansi because of age, Shikari due to uterine tumors – yet curators stress companionship. “Modern zoos must care not only for breeding but also for geriatrics,” veterinarian Agnieszka Czujkowska said.
A species coordinator reassigned Jhansi so Berlin can host a younger breeding female. The move also secures lifetime care for two rhinos that have already bolstered the captive population, with descendants now in France and Brazil.
Indian, or greater one‑horned, rhinos can weigh three tons and grow a single horn of up to 25 cm. Only about 3,000 survive in the wild.
(jh)
Source: PAP