![]() The IUCN estimates that there are 3,142 mature individuals remaining in the wild. Three subspecies have been declared extinct, including the western black rhinoceros, which was declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2011. The species overall is classified as critically endangered (even though the south-western black rhinoceros is classified as near threatened) and is threatened by multiple factors including poaching and habitat reduction. These species are now sometimes referred to as the square-lipped (for white) or hook-lipped (for black) rhinoceros. The word "white" in the name "white rhinoceros" is often said to be a misinterpretation of the Afrikaans word wyd ( Dutch wijd) meaning wide, referring to its square upper lip, as opposed to the pointed or hooked lip of the black rhinoceros. The other African rhinoceros is the white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum). It is the only extant species of the genus Diceros. Although the species is referred to as black, its colours vary from brown to grey. The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis) is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. He added that, occasionally, despite Melusha's protests, he or other zookeepers "have to hit her with the hose." Otherwise, she would never be washed at all, leaving her in a condition which can hardly be even imagined.Extant & Assisted Colonisation (resident) "She puts her ears down and flares her nostrils," Scheffler said. ![]() How does a rhino go about giving a dirty look? Sometimes, we're able to catch her standing under the shower nozzles and then when we turn the water on and catch her by surprise, she runs away again and gives us dirty looks." "In fact, when we turn the showers on, she'll run away so that the water can't hit her. But Melusha - she doesn't like them at all. "They look forward to them, and they'll roll over and over under the water like big dogs. "Mtondo Htondo and Misenda love the showers," said zookeeper Jim Scheffler. These are treatments that keep the skins of at least two of the occupants soft and lovely, and who can doubt that the daily dousings also serve to make them socially acceptable. For the distressing fact is that Melusha does not like to bathe, and, in fact, will not do so unless and until the cleansing is forced on her by despairing friends (the zookeepers, not the other rhinos).ĭuring the winter, showers are turned on every day in the rhinos' quarters. But you know how it is: Sometimes it's hard to detect something that's right under your nose.Īnd this, apparently, has been right under everyone's nose. ![]() Her cup of woe runneth over, and no one has known how to release her from her torment.įrankly, the dedicated and resourceful zookeepers who share their days with the pachyderms should have been able to figure out Melusha's problem a long time ago. Melusha, the rejected lass, has suffered, of course. Why? That is the question, which, for years, has seemed to be one of those tantalizing puzzles that unfortunately have no answer. However, Mtondo Htondo finds Melusha about as desirable as the Russian flu. The latter is just as attractive as Misenda, their intellectual capacities are on a par, they have equally arcane senses of humor and both of them, presumably, have similar potentials for amour. Misenda and Mtondo Htondo are an item, while Melusha is the outsider. The female principals are Misenda and Melusha, and the male is Mtondo Htondo. Three, in this case, is a most appropriate number, because the hefty trio does, in fact, form a romantic triangle. Our woeful one is Melusha, one of the three African white rhinos at the Milwaukee County Zoo. The few simple steps would take her directly under the shower, where her troubles - which seem to be more tenacious than man's sins - would be washed away. But how can you sympathize with someone who is entirely responsible for her own problems - someone who could be as happy as Charlie and as successful as his "Angels" if she would only take a few simple steps to help herself? It's hard to feel any sympathy for her at all. ![]() Take this column, published on this date in 1978, about a certain rhinoceros whose resistance to bathing was causing domestic discord at the zoo. Editor's note: Alicia Armstrong, who wrote the popular "Zooperstars!" column in the old Milwaukee Journal Green Sheet, wasn't shy about taking animals at the Milwaukee County Zoo to task for bad behavior. ![]()
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