Chances are, if you’ve been to the Greater Vancouver Zoo in the past 15 years, you have seen the Southern White Rhinoceros known as ‘Charlie’.
Charlie was 46 years old and was the zoo’s oldest ambassador, said general manager Jody Henderson.
Staff at the zoo were forced to humanely euthanize Charlie on Monday because he was no longer eating or drinking. Simply, he had outlived the lifespan of his teeth.
Dr. Bruce Burton and his team tried numerous methods of trying to figure out why Charlie was struggling to eat and drink.
A full necropsy was performed on Charlie on Tuesday by Dr. Chelsea Hilmsworth, an independent Veterinary Pathologist with the BC Animal Health Centre, who stated that, “Charlie was in excellent condition. Unfortunately, he had outlived the lifespan of his teeth. This prevented him for being able to chew his food properly, which eventually resulted in a blockage in the esophagus.”
Staff at the zoo said Charlie was a member of their family.
“When one of my most beloved animal friends has finally reached the end of his or her life it is impossible to adequately express the emotional toll caused by the need to terminate their existence. And even more so, to be the actual instrument of that termination. So it is with an extremely heavy heart that I say goodbye to my very dear friend, Charlie. I feel immensely privileged to have known you for the past decade and a half, and feel profoundly depressed that so few will ever experience the same intense relationship we had. My words seem grossly inadequate, and, perhaps, a little self-centred, so permit me to modify a similar sentiment once articulated by Aldo Leopold …. For those who have had such a relationship, no explanation is necessary. For those who haven’t, no explanation is possible. Rest at peace my old friend,” said Burton.
Charlie came to the zoo from the Okanagan Game Farm in 1998.
The average life span of a white rhinoceros in captivity is 25-45 years.
Rhinoceros are threatened because they constantly have to face habitat loss and poachers. They are poached for their tough skin and horn. The zoo said at one point in time six grams of rhino horn was worth $10,000. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the Southern White Rhinoceros as “Near Threatened”.
The Greater Vancouver Zoo wants to encourage anyone wishing to express their thoughts and/or share photos of their memories of Charlie to send them to their facebook page. Cards are also graciously being accepted at the front admission and will be posted at his barn.
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