New rhinos could be stars of Dasara

MYSORE: Virat and Bobbli are taking their time to settle down in the new home. The Indian one-horned rhinoceroses checked into the Mysore Zoo quietly from Patna in the wee hours of Monday after a five-day journey.
The young rhinos are rather shy and avoiding zoo staff keeping watch over them. Though they're used to humans in their midst as they were born in captivity at the Patna Zoo, they'll take time to get used to the weather here, sources told TOI.They tried to hide in a trench when staff went into the enclosure, they said.
The Mysore facility is now one of the few zoos in India to house rhinos. They're expected to go on public display in early August and together with four zebras will be the star attraction this Dasara season.
The zoo worked for five years to get the rhinos and clinched the deal after successfully breeding giraffes seven months ago. The zoo is sending one giraffe and other animals including an Indian guar and a wolf to Patna. The giraffe will be sent by this year-end. "We wanted to enrich our collection by including rhinos and finally got them," sources said, adding they would try and breed them here. The Indian rhino is listed as a vulnerable species.
Virat, who weighs 1,360 kgs, is three years old and Bobbli, who is about half the weight of her male companion, turned one recently. They mature early and start reproducing by the age of 6 in captive conditions, zoo executive director BP Ravi said. The zoo has got Indian rhinos after a decade.
Assistant director Dr C Suresh Kumar, head, veterinary section, with Girish, the Range Forest Officer, accompanied the animals from Patna. Dr Suresh said they're healthy and an animal keeper from Patna has come to take care of them and train local staff. The staff use Hindi to communicate with them and over time, these rhinos will respond to Kannada too, he said.
Rhinos, the fifth largest land animals, have a diet which consists largely of vegetables, fruits and hay.