14 DAY TRIAL // Since the 1980s until present day, the world's Sumatran rhino population has plummeted by 90%. Safe to assume this means that the animals no longer have many potential boyfriends/girlfriends to pick and choose from.
However, the Cincinnati Zoo's decision to get a pair of brother and sister rhinos to mate with one another might strike some people as a bit extreme.
The female, 8-year-old Suci, is now living at the Cincinnati Zoo. The male, named Harapan, is two years younger and lives at the Lost Angeles Zoo, sources inform us.
Specialists explain that, although the rhinos are related, there are little chances that their offspring will display any abnormalities, seeing how Suci and Haparan's parents were genetically diverse.
Additionally, there are so few Sumatran rhinos left to roam the Earth that conservationists must first and foremost focus on boosting the overall headcount for this species.
“We don't like to do it, and long term, we really don't like to do it, but when your species is almost gone, you just need animals and that matters more than genes right now - these are two of the youngest, healthiest animals in the population,” argued Terri Roth, the head of the Cincinnati Zoo's Center for Research of Endangered Wildlife.