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| Location: |
Africa - Eastern Africa - Kenya |
| Subject: |
Reproduction - Management methods |
| Species: |
Black Rhino |
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One method is urine collection. This measures hormones related to pregnancy that are excreted by the mother. Urine collection was attempted several years ago. Game rangers were armed with syringes to collect urine from leaves and other places. This process yielded very variable results due to contamination.
Another thought was dung collection and analysis. This was attempted by Deaconess Research Institute in Billings, Montana, USA, group led by Dr Jay Kirkpatrick, and Beaux Berkeley had already taken white rhino samples in Zimbabwe.
Dung is collected by observing a rhino. The specimen was labelled and placed in a cold box. Upon returning home, a 5 mg sample was placed in liquid nitrogen for deep freezing. In Montana, the samples were thawed and the hormone extracted. An ELISA test was performed.
Sixteen samples of female white rhino were collected. Results showed that some were pregnant, some were not. This test can be a valuable management tool for rhino populations.
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Doctor, are we pregnant?
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