SU researcher joins American rhino conservation initiative

A researcher from Stellenbosch University (SU) recently joined an American research group focused on the conservation of rhinos outside their natural habitats. 

This was according to a website post by the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden in Ohio, USA, on 20 September.

Dr Michele Miller – a professor at SU’s faculty of medicine and health sciences, and the National Research Fund South African Research Chair (NRF SARChI) in Animal Tuberculosis – is one of seven team leaders in the new American Institute for Rhinoceros Studies (AIRS), according to a document explaining the group’s areas of focus.

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Dr Michele Miller, a professor at Stellenbosch University’s faculty of medicine and health sciences, and the National Research Fund South African Research Chair (NRF SARChI) in Animal Tuberculosis, along with her research team. They are currently working in the Kruger National Park. Back: Dr Wynand Goosen, Charlene Clarke, Rebecca Dwyer (middle 3). Middle: Dr Leanie Kleynhans, Prof Michele Miller, Rachiel Gumbo. Front: Dr Lufuno Netshitavhadulu (South African National Parks), Tina Meiring. The other people in the photograph are staff from the Kruger Veterinary Wildlife Services department, who helped to capture the rhino in order to perform sampling, according to Miller. PHOTO: Supplied/Michele Miller

This research group has been formed by the Centre for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, to help save rhinos outside of their natural habitats, according to the document.

“Dr Miller has a mixture of field and zoo experience,” said Dr Terri Roth, director of AIRS. “This kind of comparative perspective is a rare find.”

Miller, who is currently based in the Kruger National Park, told MatieMedia that she and her team will be focusing specifically on the physical fitness of rhinos.

“As physical fitness is related to health and welfare, as well as successful reproduction, this is an overarching topic,” said Miller.

Dr Michele Miller, a professor at Stellenbosch University’s faculty of medicine and health sciences, explains how she and her team will conduct research on the physical fitness of rhinos as part of the American Institute for Rhinoceros Studies. AUDIO: Anri Matthee

The aim of AIRS

“To be successful, AIRS needed some of the brightest minds in rhino research to come together and work collaboratively on overcoming the challenges of developing self-sustaining populations of managed rhinos,” said Roth.

Besides looking at physical fitness, AIRS will also focus on rhino reproduction, well-being and iron storage, according to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden website post.

“The project will produce science-based, affordable and feasible management recommendations. [F]urthermore, this program will set a precedent for saving species with science in zoos – a model with value for all species at risk in the wild,” explained Roth.

Dr Terri Roth, director of the American Institute for Rhinoceros Studies, explains why the AIRS initiative is needed, and what its goals are. AUDIO: Anri Matthee

AIRS in Africa

“It is difficult to study rhino biology, including reproduction and disease, in the wild. However, this knowledge is becoming increasingly important, especially as smaller populations are managed,” said Christopher Whitlatch, communications director for the International Rhino Foundation (IRF).

South Africa has the largest rhino population in the world by far, and is therefore an important country for rhino conservation, according to the website of Save The Rhino, a conservation charity.

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There are five surviving rhinoceros species in Africa and Asia, according to the International Rhino Foundation (IRF). The IRF’s annual State of the Rhino report provides updates on population estimates and conservation efforts. GRAPHIC: Anri Matthee

“In South Africa, we have seen that rhinos were eliminated in Kruger National Park in the past, and it was only through protection and breeding in other locations […] that animals could be translocated to build up populations again,” explained Miller. “Findings from AIRS will be valuable for assessing rhinoceros health in range countries, particularly in South Africa, where many rhinos are managed as semi-captive populations.”

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