Szeged Zoo to transfer Indian rhinoceros to Poland for breeding program

SZEGED, Hungary — An eight-year-old male Indian rhinoceros at the Szegedi Vadaspark will be transferred to Poland as part of a European conservation breeding program, the zoo said in a social media post.

Csülök, a male Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), is scheduled to move in the spring to the Wrocław Zoo for breeding purposes. The decision was made by the species coordinator overseeing the international program, the zoo said.

A transport container arrived in Szeged on Thursday morning from the Dvůr Králové Zoo. Zoo staff will install and secure the three-ton crate before beginning training sessions to encourage the animal to enter it voluntarily. Due to the rhino’s size and strength, it must walk into the crate on its own to ensure safe transport.

The Szeged Zoo’s rhinoceros house opened in 2020, when two young male rhinos arrived under the conservation breeding program. Zoo officials had previously indicated that their long-term goal was to exchange one of the males for a female once the animals reached sexual maturity.

Under the new arrangement, Csülök will relocate to Wrocław, while the other male, Akeno, will remain in Szeged and is expected to receive a female companion soon.

Zoo officials said separating the two males is also important for behavioral reasons. Young male rhinos can be housed together until they reach sexual maturity, after which territorial instincts may intensify and lead to serious aggression.

The Indian rhinoceros is considered a flagship species in zoos worldwide. About a century ago, the species was on the brink of extinction, with only a few individuals remaining in northern India, primarily in Assam, due to intensive hunting.

Rhinos were targeted for trophies and for use in traditional Chinese medicine, a threat that conservationists say persists despite a lack of scientific evidence supporting medicinal claims. Thanks to active protection measures, the population has rebounded, and more than 2,000 Indian rhinos now live in the wild.

One of five surviving rhinoceros species, the Indian rhinoceros can exceed 3 meters in length in females and more than 3.5 meters in males, weighing between 1,600 and 3,200 kilograms. The animals’ brownish-gray skin, 2 to 5 centimeters thick and deeply folded, gives them an armor-like appearance, earning them the nickname “armored rhinoceros.”

Indian rhinos are generally solitary, except for females raising calves. They consume roughly 1% of their body weight daily, feeding mainly on grasses, as well as fruits, leaves, branches and aquatic plants.

Source: MTI (Hungarian News Agency)

Featured image: Indian rhinoceros at Kaziranga National Park, India. Used for illustration only. Photo: András Vasas.