Europe’s oldest white female rhinoceros named Tryvoha (Anxiety) died in Kyiv’s zoo on March 22 at the age of 46.
Tryvoha beat the previous longevity record of
a white rhino named Zulu, who lived 45
years and five months in a zoo of the Polish city of Lodz.
“On March 22 at 2.50 p.m. after the inevitable
disease called ‘old age,’ our Tryvoha, the oldest female white rhino in Europe,
passed away,” the Kyiv zoo announced on its website.
Tryvoha became seriously ill in early March.
Ukrainian and European veterinarians tried to help the animal, but in vain.
Tryvoha was regarded as a pet to several
generations of Kyivans.
“What a pity. I remember her all the life.
Kyivans loved her,” wrote Olena Kryzhanivska on the Kyiv’s zoo Facebook page.
Another Kyivan, Olga Kalita, wrote: “I am very
sorry. I remember her from my childhood. It seemed to me she will always be.”
The white rhino Tryvoha was brought to the
Kyiv zoo from Germany on Oct. 13, 1972.
The animal was taken from the wilds in the
South African province of Natal sometime between 1968–1970. It was at the Kyiv
zoo where she got her name – Tryvoha (Anxiety).
“When she arrived to Kyiv from Germany she was
very fearful, afraid of loud sounds and sudden movements,” the Kyiv zoo press
service explained.
Despite her nickname, Tryvoha was a very
gentle animal.
She enjoyed having her back and abdomen
massaged.
White bread and apples were her favorite
delicacies.
Tryvoha did not leave descendants. Rhinos
normally do not breed in captivity.
Tryvoha’s body will be examined by Kyiv’s
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine.
In the wild, rhinos live up to 40 years. Over
20,000 animals exist in protected areas and private game reserves. Some 99
percent of world’s white rhinos’ population live in four countries –South
Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya.
