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Episode 6 - Makubu the White Rhino
Makubu is a thirteen year old white rhino who was born at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park. Although she has reached maturity she has never bred and the vets were keen to find out why.
© Andrea MantThe vets invited animal reproductive expert Dr Thomas Hildebrandt of the Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, to Whipsnade to ultrasound Makubu to determine whether her reproductive cycle was functioning correctly.
Ultrasounding a rhino
Zoo nurse, Jo Dodds hand-injected Makubu to sedate her before Dr. Hildebrandt inserted a rectal ultrasound probe and located her reproductive organs. The ultrasound probe was originally developed for humans and has been modified for animals and then further modified by Dr. Hildebrandt.
© ZSLThe ultrasound revealed a very large follicle on Makubu’s ovary which indicated that she was not ovulating. This means that Makubu is not producing oestrogen and as a result when a follicle begins to develop it grows large, before regressing and becoming small, but the egg is not released. Changes in Makubu’s hormones let the male know it’s the right time to mate, and the fact that her hormonal cycle is not functioning properly explains why she has never mated.
The future
This is a common problem for female rhinos who live closely with their mothers, like Makubu. It is important that the animal team find a remedy for this issue as it places a big strain on Makubu’s reproductive system and can lead to further complications. As part of the breeding programme, Makubu was already scheduled to leave the collection, and this mimics the situation in the wild where the daughter would leave the mother. It is hoped that the change in environment when she moves to a zoo in Holland will allow her to begin to ovulating naturally.
