Conservation Medicine

The Rhino Conservation Medicine Program, a unique collaboration between the International Rhino Foundation, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, and the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, provides high-level veterinary medical support for global rhino conservation efforts both in the wild and in captivity. 

The Rhino Conservation Medicine Program has three fundamental objectives:  1) to provide health care service for global rhino conservation programs in Asia and Africa; 2) to provide unique training and educational opportunities for American and Indonesian veterinary students focused on rhino treatment and research; and 3) to educate local children and communities about the importance of protecting rhinos.

Currently, the Rhino Conservation Medicine primarily supports the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary  (SRS), located in Way Kambas National Park, Indonesia. (The SRS is an approximately 250 acre center devoted to propagation, research and education. The sanctuary is now home to five rhinos – two males and three females -- that are part of an intensively managed research and breeding program aimed at increasing the Sumatran rhino population in the wild. At the sanctuary, the rhinos reside in large, open areas where they can experience a natural rain forest habitat while still receiving state-of-the-art veterinary care and nutrition.)

The Conservation Medicine program staff oversees medical care of the captive rhinos at the sanctuary, conducting quarterly visits to examine the rhinos, provide routine veterinary care, treat the rhinos for any diseases, infections or injuries, and supervise nutrition and breeding plans. During these regular visits, Conservation Medicine program staff train sanctuary vets and Indonesian students on rhino veterinary knowledge and skills. The program also supports disease surveys around the national park to help protect rhinos from increasing wildlife-domestic animal disease interface and human induced environmental change.

Program staff is also responsible for planning and overseeing translocations of Sumatran rhinos in captivity to facilitate breeding efforts. The first such major translocation took place in early 2007, when Andalas, the first Sumatran rhino born in captivity in over 112 years, was moved from the U.S. to the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary. The Rhino Conservation Medicine program managed the health-care challenges of this international animal relocation.

A key part of the preparation was the vaccination of Andalas against diseases for which he has no immunity. Andalas, born in 2001 at the Cincinnati Zoo, had not been exposed to blood parasites present in the Indonesian jungle and thus had not developed natural immunity as young rhinos do in the wild. The Rhino Conservation Medicine Program collaborated with immunologists from Cornell to adapt a vaccine originally developed to protect domestic livestock in Brazil against parasitic diseases for Andalas. The use of this new rhino vaccine will be a key step towards any future reintroduction of captive-bred Sumatran rhinos into the wild.

To help train the next generation of veterinarians and scientists that will carry rhino conservation efforts into the future, the Rhino Conservation Medicine Program offers classes at Cornell University and sponsors veterinary students to conduct research at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary. These research projects allow students to apply their veterinary knowledge to a “real world” conservation problem, while also helping to solve problems faced by sanctuary staff in caring for and breeding the critically endangered Sumatran rhinos. The program will also develop cross-cultural training opportunities for international veterinary students from Indonesia and other rhino range state to visit and train at Cornell.

The Rhino Conservation Medicine Program also seeks to improve the chances for successful rhino conservation and reintroduction efforts by building support for rhino protection among local students and communities surrounding Way Kambas National Park. This education and outreach effort includes the publication of an Indonesian children’s book, entitled Badak Tidak Bercula (The Hornless Rhinoceros), and the creation of a rhino dance that is performed at local schools and festivals.

Finally, the Conservation Medicine Program is currently expanding to provide research and veterinary support for other rhino species around the world, including supporting the development of anesthesia and ultrasound protocols and training for black rhino vets in Namibia.

The Rhino Conservation Medicine Program is housed at Cornell University, and led by Dr. Robin Radcliffe, DVM/DACZM. Dr. Radcliffe, one of the few veterinarians in the world certified by the American College of Zoological Medicine with a specialty in wildlife, formerly served as Chief Veterinarian at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center near Dallas, and now teaches at the veterinary school at Cornell and oversees the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park, Indonesia.

IRF needs your help to continue providing veterinary support for rhino conservation efforts around the world. Visit our donate page to learn more about how you can help us protect rhinos.

If you would like more information about this or other IRF programs, please email
info@rhinos-irf.org.