Female Rhinoceros Research Articles

Population’s preference of rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros) between oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and coconut palm (Cocos nucifera l.): Contributing to pest’s controlling strategy

The rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros) began to establish itself in Malaysia with the emergence of coconut cultivation. Rhinoceros beetles were well adapted to survive on oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) trees. Different host plants could have different interactions and food preferences with the Rhinoceros beetle against their host plant, even within the same family. Additionally, climatic change, particularly rainfall, could also influence the population dynamics of O. rhinoceros especially in terms of the biological aspect of the pest. This study was carried out to evaluate the difference in population of rhinoceros beetles between oil palm and coconut palm as a preference host comparison in relation to the climatic factors on the plantation scale. The population of rhinoceros beetles was found to be higher in oil palm as compared to coconut palm. It can be concluded that rhinoceros beetles highly prefer oil palms when compared to coconut palms. This study highlighted the importance of planting similar families in order to reduce the risk of pest attacks. This study also found that climate is one of the factors influences the population dynamics of rhinoceros beetles and puts pressure on plants, subsequently making it a favorable condition for rhinoceros beetles in the field. Interestingly, female rhinoceros beetle in an oil palm field was significantly correlated with the rainfall. Therefore, preventive measures need to be taken during the rainy season, considering the high risk of planting nearby and/or similar plants.

Prolactin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for rhinoceroses – Another tool for assessing reproductive function and dysfunction in this taxon

For decades, progesterone and its metabolites have served as the primary biomarkers for monitoring reproductive activity in rhinoceroses, whereas protein hormones have received little attention despite their potential value in understanding reproductive function and dysfunction in this taxon. The goals of this study were to: 1) identify an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) effective in measuring rhinoceros serum prolactin, 2) generate representative prolactin data in male and female rhinoceroses in diverse reproductive states, and 3) characterize prolactin throughout pregnancy in a white rhinoceros that exhibited mid-gestation lactation. Our results indicated that an equine prolactin ELISA by CUSABIO® is effective in measuring serum prolactin concentrations in white, black and Sumatran rhinoceroses. Preliminary data suggested that prolactin is lowest in males and acyclic females, but also appeared low during post-partum lactation. In contrast, prolactin concentrations were elevated in pregnant females and moderate in sexually mature females experiencing reproductive cyclicity. Prolactin increased following conception and generally continued to rise throughout pregnancy in the one pregnant white rhinoceros profiled herein. Spikes and dips in prolactin and progesterone, respectively, were documented around the time of mid-gestation mammary development and colostrum production in this individual and may provide some clues into the physiological triggers of this newly described aberrant reproductive condition. In conclusion, we have identified a new tool for studying reproductive activity in rhinoceroses, generated preliminary data, and revealed an intriguing relationship between prolactin fluctuations and premature lactation. This work provides the foundation for larger, focused studies on the role of prolactin in this taxon.

The effects of animal transfers on the reproductive success of female white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum simum) kept in European zoos

The Southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) has been kept in European zoos since the 1960s. However, captive breeding success has been low, with social group composition, group size, and available space all playing a role. Female rhinoceroses that have never bred or not bred for a long time have a particularly increased risk of developing reproductive tract pathologies, often resulting in infertility at a young age. One management measure to stimulate breeding is to transfer non-reproducing animals to other zoos. This study evaluated the success of transfers of 4 – 28 years old white rhinoceroses between European zoos. We analyzed n = 90 (45 males and 45 females) transfers of white rhinoceroses between 1990 and 2018. Fecal progesterone metabolite levels were analyzed for a subset of female rhinoceroses. The success of a transfer was defined as a calf born within five years. The success rate after female transfers was 26.7%; however, when the age limit of transferred females is set at 18 years, the success rate was 44.4%. The success rate after a male transfer was 23.2%. In transferred females, 83% of births occurred within three years after a transfer. Births following the arrival of a new male were distributed over five years. After a male transfer, endocrine data were determined in 26 of 82 females affected by the transfer. Positive development of estrous cycle activity after the arrival of the new bull occurred in 13 females. In summary, the success of the transfers in terms of offspring birth and endocrine stimulation of cycle activity was lower than anticipated, and sometimes a considerable amount of time elapsed before a calf was born. Nonetheless, transfers are essential to promote breeding. The relatively low success of the transfers analyzed in this study relates to the partially advanced age of the white rhinoceroses studied. Transfers of juvenile or adolescent females currently conducted between European zoos reveal a better birth rate than the present study.

Histopathological Investigations and Molecular Confirmation Reveal Mycobacterium bovis in One-Horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicorns).

Mycobacterium bovis causes tuberculosis in dairy and wild animals. Presence of tuberculosis in animals poses a threat not only to their herd mates but also for public. No reports are available about the clinical, pathological, and molecular investigation of naturally occurring tuberculosis (TB) due to M. bovis in one-horned rhinoceros. One-horned female rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicorns) at the age of 41 years died in a public park in Pakistan. Postmortem and other investigations were carried out to know the cause of death. The present study describes necropsy, histopathology, and molecular-based confirmation of TB in a captive female rhinoceros that died of this infection. Clinically, the rhinoceros showed nonspecific clinical signs including anorexia, lethargy, dyspnoea, coughing, and sudden death. At necropsy, the trachea exhibited mild congestion and contained catarrhal exudate at the bronchial bifurcation. Macroscopic examination revealed characteristic tubercles on all parenchymatous organs. The lungs showed consolidation, grey hepatization, and contained granulomatous lesions packed with cheesy exudate. Histopathological examination showed severe pneumonic changes in the form of granulomatous inflammation consisting of lymphocytes, multinucleated giant cells, caseous materials, and mineralized foci surrounded by a fibrous capsule. PCR amplicon of 500 bp confirmed the presence of M. bovis in multiple hepatic and pulmonary tissue samples, as well as in uterine exudates. It was concluded that the presence of tuberculosis in rhinoceros may pose potential transmission risk to other animals and the application of practical tools to determine TB status in the rhinoceros is crucial.

Exposure to persistent organic pollutants is linked to over-wintering latitude in a Pacific seabird, the rhinoceros auklet, Cerorhinca monocerata.

Seabirds are wide-ranging organisms often used to track marine pollution, yet the effect of migration on exposure over the annual cycle is often unclear. We used solar geolocation loggers and stable isotope analysis to study the effects of post breeding dispersal and diet on persistent organic pollutant (POP) and mercury (Hg) burdens in rhinoceros auklets, Cerorhinca monocerata, breeding on islands along the Pacific Coast of Canada. Hg and four classes of POPs were measured in auklet eggs: organochlorine insecticides (OCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and perfluoralkyl substances (PFASs). Stable isotope values of adult breast feathers grown during winter were used in conjunction with geolocation to elucidate adult wintering latitude. Wintering latitude was the most consistent and significant predictor of some POP and of Hg concentrations in eggs. The magnitude and pattern of exposure varied by contaminant, with ∑PCBs, ∑PBDEs and DDE decreasing with wintering latitude, and mirex, perfluoro-n-tridecanoic acid, and Hg increasing with latitude. We suggest that concentrations of these contaminants in rhinoceros auklet eggs are influenced by variation in uptake at adult wintering locations related to anthropogenic inputs and oceanic and atmospheric transport.

The hornless rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus inermis Lesson, 1836) discovered by Lamare-Picquot in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh in 1828, with notes on the history of his Asian collections

Abstract The French pharmacist and explorer Christoph-Augustin Lamare-Picquot (1785–1873) was in South Asia during 1826–1829 to collect ethnographical, anthropological, zoological and botanical specimens. He made an excursion to the Sundarbans (the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta) of Bangladesh, where on 17 November 1828 his team shot a female rhinoceros and caught her young one the next day, just south of Khulna. Both animals were completely hornless. He returned to France in the spring of 1830, where his zoological specimens were assessed by Georges Cuvier, and his other collections relating to ethnography by other scholars. All recommended purchase by the French Government, but circumstances did not allow this. A few animals were described by scientists connected with the Natural History Museum in Paris. After Lamare-Picquot published an account of the hunting expedition in 1835, the rhinoceros was described as a new species Rhinoceros inermis, by René-Primivère Lesson, first in a supplement to Buffon dated 1836, and not, as accepted until now, in restatements dating from 1838 or later. The main part of the zoological collection was bought by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III in 1836 and integrated in museums in Berlin. Other collections were exhibited as a “Panthéon Indien” in Vienna and Bratislava from 1838, until they were purchased by the Bavarian King Ludwig in 1841, and added to a museum in Munich. The type specimens of R. inermis are still preserved in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. The adult female (ZMB_Mam_1957) was selected as the lectotype.

Ovarian down Regulation by GnRF Vaccination Decreases Reproductive Tract Tumour Size in Female White and Greater One-Horned Rhinoceroses.

Reproductive tract tumours, specifically leiomyoma, are commonly found in female rhinoceroses. Similar to humans, tumour growth in rhinoceroses is thought to be sex hormone dependent. Tumours can form and expand from the onset of ovarian activity at puberty until the cessation of sex-steroid influences at senescence. Extensive tumour growth results in infertility. The aim of this study was to down regulate reproductive function of tumour-diseased and infertile females to stop further tumour growth using a Gonadotropin releasing factor (GnRF) vaccine. Four infertile southern white (Ceratotherium simum simum) and three Greater one-horned rhinoceroses (rhinoceros unicornis) with active ovaries and 2.7 ± 0.9 and 14.0 ± 1.5 reproductive tract tumours respectively were vaccinated against GnRF (Improvac®, Zoetis, Germany) at 0, 4 and 16 weeks and re-boostered every 6–8 months thereafter. After GnRF vaccination ovarian and luteal activity was suppressed in all treated females. Three months after vaccination the size of the ovaries, the number of follicles and the size of the largest follicle were significantly reduced (P<0.03). Reproductive tract tumours decreased significantly in diameter (Greater-one horned rhino: P<0.0001; white rhino: P<0.01), presumably as a result of reduced sex-steroid influence. The calculated tumour volumes were reduced by 50.8 ± 10.9% in Greater one-horned and 48.6 ± 12.9% in white rhinoceroses. In conclusion, GnRF vaccine effectively down regulated reproductive function and decreased the size of reproductive tract tumours in female rhinoceros. Our work is the first to use down regulation of reproductive function as a symptomatic treatment against benign reproductive tumour disease in a wildlife species. Nonetheless, full reversibility and rhinoceros fertility following GnRF vaccination warrants further evaluation.

Feasibility Study of NMR Based Serum Metabolomic Profiling to Animal Health Monitoring: A Case Study on Iron Storage Disease in Captive Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis).

A variety of wildlife species maintained in captivity are susceptible to iron storage disease (ISD), or hemochromatosis, a disease resulting from the deposition of excess iron into insoluble iron clusters in soft tissue. Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is one of the rhinoceros species that has evolutionarily adapted to a low-iron diet and is susceptible to iron overload. Hemosiderosis is reported at necropsy in many African black and Sumatran rhinoceroses but only a small number of animals reportedly die from hemochromatosis. The underlying cause and reasons for differences in susceptibility to hemochromatosis within the taxon remains unclear. Although serum ferritin concentrations have been useful in monitoring the progression of ISD in many species, there is some question regarding their value in diagnosing hemochromatosis in the Sumatran rhino. To investigate the metabolic changes during the development of hemochromatosis and possibly increase our understanding of its progression and individual susceptibility differences, the serum metabolome from a Sumatran rhinoceros was investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics. The study involved samples from female rhinoceros at the Cincinnati Zoo (n = 3), including two animals that died from liver failure caused by ISD, and the Sungai Dusun Rhinoceros Conservation Centre in Peninsular Malaysia (n = 4). Principal component analysis was performed to visually and statistically compare the metabolic profiles of the healthy animals. The results indicated that significant differences were present between the animals at the zoo and the animals in the conservation center. A comparison of the 43 serum metabolomes of three zoo rhinoceros showed two distinct groupings, healthy (n = 30) and unhealthy (n = 13). A total of eighteen altered metabolites were identified in healthy versus unhealthy samples. Results strongly suggest that NMR-based metabolomics is a valuable tool for animal health monitoring and may provide insight into the progression of this and other insidious diseases.

Baseline Hematologic Results for Free-ranging White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Complete blood counts (n = 115) and red blood cell analytes (n = 80) were assessed in free-ranging white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) from Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa. Blood was collected from healthy animals immobilized between February and September 2009-11 for management purposes. Our objectives were to establish baselines for KNP's white rhinoceros population and to compare results based on sex and age group. Significant differences in total white blood cells, total eosinophils, and hemoglobin were found between adult and subadult rhinoceros. Female rhinoceros had significantly higher total white blood cells and lower hemoglobin compared with males. Hematologic analytes were similar to those published for other rhinoceros populations, although the impact of capture and sampling methods, nutritional status, and habitat should be considered when comparing data. This baseline hematology for healthy free-ranging white rhinoceros in KNP may be useful in assessing health status for translocation and medical interventions, including treatment of poaching cases.

HEMATOLOGY AND SERUM BIOCHEMISTRY OF SUMATRAN RHINOCEROSES (DICERORHINUS SUMATRENSIS) IN A RAINFOREST SANCTUARY IN WAY KAMBAS NATIONAL PARK, INDONESIA

There is a paucity of basic biological information for the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis). This information is fundamental to husbandry and management practices for captive animals and for support of in situ conservation efforts. Serial blood samples were collected over an 8-yr period to evaluate patterns in hematology and serum biochemistry values among five Sumatran rhinoceroses housed at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park, Lampung, Indonesia. Understanding the basis for variance in analytes both within and between subjects can allow use of more sensitive subject-based reference values, and is particularly suitable for small populations of endangered animals. Both intra- and intersubject variability was computed for each analyte and the associated index of individuality was determined. Previously published cutoff points for index of individuality indicate where population-based reference intervals can be used with confidence (index > 1.4) or with caution (0.6 < index < 1.4). Interrhino variability was small for the majority of analytes, with 12 of 19 analytes having an index of individuality greater than 1.4 and none having an index of individuality less than 0.6. With the high within-individual variability of most anayltes in the Sumatran rhinoceroses at the sanctuary, subject-based reference intervals offer little advantage over standard population-based reference intervals for monitoring the health of these endangered animals. Differences were noted (but not tested for statistical significance) in serum urea, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and cholesterol between young and old rhinoceroses, and in hematocrit, AST, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), LDH, and glucose between male and female rhinoceroses. Husbandry practices, animal management, nutrition and habitat factors may also impact hematology and biochemistry results, and these relationships deserve more careful investigation. This study represents the most comprehensive hematology and serum biochemistry comparison of Sumatran rhinoceroses held in natural rainforest conditions outside a traditional zoological setting.

First successful artificial insemination with frozen-thawed semen in rhinoceros

The first successful artificial insemination (AI) in a rhinoceros was reported in 2007 using fresh semen. Following that success, we decided to evaluate the possibility of using frozen-thawed semen for artificial insemination. Semen, collected from a 35–36 year old Southern white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum simum) in the UK was frozen using the directional freezing technique. This frozen semen was used in two intrauterine AI attempts on a 30 years old female rhinoceros in Hungary. The first attempt, conducted 30 days postpartum with an insemination dose of ∼135 × 10 6 motile cells, failed. The second attempt, conducted two estrus cycles later with an insemination dose of ∼500 × 10 6 motile cells, resulted in pregnancy and the birth of a healthy offspring. This represents the first successful AI using frozen-thawed semen in a rhinoceros, putting it among very few wildlife species in which AI with frozen-thawed semen resulted in a live birth. The incorporation of AI with frozen-thawed semen into the assisted reproduction toolbox opens the way to preserve and transport semen between distant individuals in captivity or between wild and captive populations, without the need to transport stressed or potentially disease carrying animals. In addition, cryopreserved spermatozoa, in combination with AI, are useful methods to extend the reproductive lifespan of individuals beyond their biological lifespan and an important tool for managing genetic diversity in these endangered mammals.

Do marine birds use environmental cues to optimize egg production? An experimental test based on relaying propensity

According to the environmental cues hypothesis, female birds use information available to them in the early‐season environment to fine‐tune egg production annually. However, support for the hypothesis derives largely from correlational studies. In each year from 2002 to 2006, which spanned a period of extreme variation in environmental conditions, we removed eggs from early‐laying rhinoceros auklets Cerorhinca monocerata, burrow‐nesting seabirds that lay a single‐egg clutch. We then measured their relaying rates, relaying intervals, and breeding success. We also monitored the timing and success of breeding in control pairs, and control chick diets. If the experimental females base their relaying decision on early‐season cues, then we predict that few will relay in years in which early‐laying control birds breed unsuccessfully, and in which a preferred prey species, Pacific sandlance Ammodytes hexapterus, is in short supply in nestling diets. Results matched neither prediction. In each year, almost all (88–90%) of the experimental females relaid, despite that the control pairs’ breeding success (32–87% fledged chicks), and their chicks’ diets (twofold variation in proportion of sandlance), varied markedly. We conclude that female rhinoceros auklets did not modify their relaying decision in response to variation in environmental conditions, although relaying intervals and their own breeding success (0–78%) covaried negatively. Our results may have important implications related to using seabirds as monitors of the marine environment.

Ovarian Torsion in a Green, Iguana iguana, and a Rhinoceros, Cyclura cornuta, Iguana

ABSTRACT Unilateral ovarian torsion was diagnosed in two unrelated iguanas based on gross and microscopic findings. Case No. 1 was an adult female green iguana, Iguana iguana, that died with severe egg retention and systemic bacterial infection with unilateral granulomatous oophoritis and a 360° clockwise torsion of the left ovary. Case No. 2 was a two year-old female rhinoceros iguana, Cyclura cornuta, that died after a seven day history of marked weakness, lethargy, anorexia and tremors, and had a 270° counterclockwise torsion in the right ovary with oophoritis and a coelomic serosanguineous effusion. This is believed to be the first report of ovarian torsion in iguanas, although follicular torsion has been recently documented in a green iguana.

Assisted Reproduction in Female Rhinoceros and Elephants – Current Status and Future Perspective

Over the last few decades, rhinoceroses and elephants became important icons in the saga of wildlife conservation. Recent surveys estimate the wild Asian (Elephas maximus) and African (Loxodonta africana) elephant populations to be, at most, 50 250 and 637 600 respectively. For the five rhinoceros species, black (Diceros bicornis), white (Ceratotherium simum), Indian (Rhinoceros unicornis), Javan (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus Sumatrensis), the population estimates of 3610, 11 330, 2400, 60 and 300, respectively, are of even greater concern. Protected against habitat loss, poaching and left undisturbed, rhinoceros and elephants reproduce well in the wild. But small and decreasing populations make successful captive management of these taxa increasingly important. In captivity, however, most populations face possible 'extinction' because of historically poor reproductive performance. From the first descriptions of the reproductive anatomy and the oestrous cycle (Laws 1969; Kassam and Lasley 1981; Balke et al. 1988a,b; Plotka et al. 1988; Godfrey et al. 1991) to the present use of advanced assisted reproduction technologies, researchers have strive to understand the function and dysfunction of the reproductive biology of these charismatic species. This paper reviewed the current knowledge on rhinoceros and elephant reproduction biology, reproductive cycle, gestation, dystocia, reproductive pathology, oestrous induction and artificial insemination, sperm sexing, IVF and contraception, and how this knowledge is or might be used to aid species conservation for maximal reproductive efficiency and enhancement of genetic management.

Translocation reverses birth sex ratio bias depending on its timing during gestation: evidence for the action of two sex-allocation mechanisms

Many sex allocation mechanisms are proposed but rarely have researchers considered and tested more than one at a time. Four facultative birth sex ratio (BSR) adjustment mechanisms are considered: (1) hormone-induced conception bias; (2) sex-differential embryo death from excess glucose metabolism; (3) sex-differential embryo death from embryo-uterine developmental asynchrony; and (4) pregnancy hormone suppression and resource deprivation. All mechanisms could be switched on by the corticoadrenal stress response. A total of 104 female rhinoceroses (Rhinocerotidae), translocated from 1961 to 2004 at different stages of gestation or conceived soon after arrival in captivity, were used to test for a reversal in BSR bias as evidence for the action of multiple sex-allocation mechanisms. Translocation induced a statistically significant BSR reversal between early gestation (86% male births from 0 to 0.19 gestation) and mid-gestation (38% male from 0.2 to 0.79 gestation). Captivity also induced a strongly male-biased (67% male) BSR for conceptions after arrival in captivity. The results indicate the action of at least two sex-allocation mechanisms operating in sequence, confirm the important role of sex-differential embryo death around implantation and of stress in sex allocation, and lend support to suggestions that sex-differential glucose metabolism by the preimplantation embryo likely plays a role in facultative BSR adjustment.

Reproductive problems directly attributable to long-term captivity–asymmetric reproductive aging

Problems attributable to long-term captivity have been identified and are responsible for the difficulties in establishing successful reproduction in captive populations of wildlife, specifically, elephants and rhinoceroses. Historically, non-reproductive periods of 10–15 years in nulliparous female rhinoceroses and elephants have not been considered problematic. New evidence suggests that prolonged exposure to endogenous sex steroids and that long stretches of non-reproductive periods induce asymmetric reproductive aging in captive animals. The consequences are reduced fertility, shortened reproductive life-span and, eventually, irreversible acyclicity. Although age-related reproductive lesions have also been documented in male rhinoceroses, they continue to maintain a longer reproductive life-span than females. Since human and domestic animal models have already indicated that early pregnancy provides natural protective mechanism against asymmetric reproductive aging processes and premature senescence, it is imperative that appropriate counter measures such as assisted reproductive technologies (ART) be utilized to ensure early pregnancy in captive animals for their preservation and to ensure increased genetic diversity of the captive populations.

Non-invasive assessment of oestrous cycles and evaluation of reproductive seasonality in the female wild black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor).

Female wild black rhinoceroses in Zimbabwe were monitored non-invasively using faecal progesterone metabolite analysis and observation of reproductive behaviour. A postpartum period of reproductive inactivity of at least 4 months, followed by a period of 4-7 months of oestrous cyclicity, was detected in six multiparous females. Three-quarters of the oestrous cycles (n = 21) had a total duration (mean +/- SEM) of 26.8 +/- 1 days. Other types of cycle were characterized either by an extended luteal phase, lasting on average twice as long as the normal cycle, or by an extended follicular phase. These extended cycles may have resulted from early embryo loss and heat stress. Female rhinoceroses did not conceive before 8 months after giving birth and some females (n = 2) most likely aborted after 3.0-3.5 months of gestation. The detected period of cyclic oestrus occurred between May and March in females (n = 9), and there was a 3 month extended interoestrous interval in nulliparous females during the period of decreasing daylengths that can be presumed to be the period of poorest fertility for the black rhinoceros under tropical latitudes. In contrast, the period of optimum fertility in the Southern hemisphere coincided with the late spring and early summer, and corresponded to the early rainy season. As a result, a higher incidence of births was detected in the late rainy season, providing the lactating female with the most suitable environment in terms of nutritional requirements.

Javan rhinoceros in Vietnam

Two species of rhinoceros—the Javan and the Sumatran—once inhabited Vietnam but the Sumatran rhinoceros apparently became extinct there early this century and by the late 1960s it was feared that the Javan rhinoceros probably no longer occurred there either. Then, in November 1988, a hunter shot an adult female rhinoceros about 130 km north-east of Saigon. He was arrested when he tried to sell the horn and hide. In early 1989 the authors were conducting wildlife surveys near where the killing took place and they took this opportunity to check the status of the species. They found evidence that perhaps 10–15 Javan rhinoceros still survive in Vietnam. As a result of this discovery the Vietnamese Government has set up a Rhinoceros Conservation Group.

The Earliest Mention of the Kangaroo in Literature

I TAKE advantage of the present opportunity to put another question to zoologists. In the same book of Massoudi, whom I quoted in the previous notice, I found the following passage (vol. i. p. 387):—“El Djahiz, in his ‘Book on Animals’, relates that the female rhinoceros is pregnant for seven years, during which the cub protrudes the head from the belly of the mother, in order to browse, and withdraws it afterwards. Desirous of being better informed, I asked the people of Siraf and Oman, who visited this country, as well as merchants whom I had met in India. They all told me that the rhinoceros breeds just like the cow and the buffalo; and I do not know where El Djahiz has found this story, whether among his reading, or from his inquiries.” This is evidently an obscure tradition about the Australian kangaroo, which had reached some part of Asia, and was connected with the rhinoceros by people who knew nothing about either of the two animals. Has the attention of zoologists been called to this story before?