https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-if-extinction-wasnt-forever/
"“My biceps has become pretty muscular,” Barbara Durrant jokes before pushing
an ultrasound wand into the rectum of a female rhinoceros named Wallis.
Durrant’s arm disappears up to her shoulder. “My record in finding an ovary is
10 seconds,” she quips while leaning against the backside of Wallis who easily
outweighs her by 2,000 pounds. Rhinoceros ultrasounds happen anally because the
ovaries of the giants lie about two meters inside. Wallis munches contently on
carrots and celery while Durrant examines her at the other end. Follicles the
size of ping-pong balls appear on the computer screen.
Durrant is a gynecologist for giants because the southern white rhinos under
her care have a specific role: They are the world’s best hope to save another
subspecies, the northern white rhino, from complete extinction. For this
purpose, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance carved out 3.5 acres of the
1,800-acre San Diego Zoo Safari Park and, with the help of generous donors,
built the Nikita Kahn Rhino Rescue Center. A dozen rhinos trot on sandy ground
just like in their original homeland the African savanna, enjoy 24/7 care by
behavioral specialists and have state-of-the-art medical equipment like the
garage-size, specially designed ultrasound pen where Wallis’s movement is
restricted so Durrant can perform her exams. If everything goes well, the
southern cows could become surrogate moms for northern white rhino embryos."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
