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A rare Sumatran rhino at the Cincinnati Zoo is packing his bags for a trip to Indonesia, where nearly all the remaining Sumatran rhinos live. The last day for visitors to see him at the zoo is next Thursday.
The zoo announced the departure of the rhino, named Harapan, in August.
Sumatran rhinos, also known as “hairy rhinos,” are descendants of Ice Age wooly rhinos. Their numbers have plunged by 90 percent in the past 30 years due to deforestation and poaching. Only about 100 remain in the world.
Hardpan will take a 30-hour flight to join his older brother Andalas, three females and male offspring of Andalas, at a Sumatran sanctuary.
Before Harapan’s sister Suci died from illness at the Cincinnati Zoo last year, conservationists had discussed breeding the siblings. Now it’s hoped Harapan will successfully breed at the sanctuary in his ancestral homeland.
Hardpan is a seasoned traveler. He was born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2007, then was moved to a Florida facility and then to the Los Angeles Zoo before returning to Cincinnati in 2013.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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