POWELL – The staff at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is mourning the loss of the attraction’s only rhino.
Rosie, an eastern black rhinoceros whose health had recently declined due to her advanced age, was euthanized Monday morning, zoo officials announced.
At almost 31 years old, Rosie exceeded the median life expectancy of black rhinos living in zoos by over a decade but had developed several geriatric problems like hypertension and arthritis.
Rosie was born at the San Francisco Zoo in 1990 and arrived at the Columbus Zoo in 2009.
As black rhinos are solitary by nature, Rosie was the only rhino at the zoo. Future plans for her habitat will be announced later.
Almost 98 percent of the total black rhino population is found in four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya. There are an estimated 5,000 black rhinos remaining in their native range.