This white rhinoceros was one of the first animals to arrive at Bioparc Valencia from the old Viveros zoo.
Thursday, June 20, 2013. Romulus It is the male white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) oldest of the four specimens that lived in the park and the oldest endearing for Valencians, which they have been able to see first in Viveros and later in Bioparc.
He was born in 1979 in England. He was one of the first animals to arrive, in August 2007, from the the city's old zoo, where it remained for 23 years. There he lived alone in a small enclosure, which caused the development of repetitive behavior or stereotypy that consisted of walking in circles continuously.
Since his arrival at Bioparc, Rómulo's life changed considerably by living in larger and more modern enclosures and receive special attention from the caregivers. They began an environmental enrichment program in which new stimuli were introduced into their environment to try to reduce these stereotypical behaviors.
Furthermore, from his outdoor enclosure he had constant visual contact with the two females and the other male, since from the southern white rhino breeding program (EEP) was considered to play an important role as “encelador” male. Male white rhinos "entice" each other so that the presence of another male promotes the development of sexual behavior that culminates in copulation, but it was finally discovered that instead of fulfilling its stimulating function, the opposite happened and Rómulo inhibited the correct reproduction of the other male. Given this fact and given the importance of the Bioparc reproductive group within the European program, it is decided to transfer Romulo a new destination, previously ensuring that it was suitable for him to continue the process of improving his stereotypy.
Yesterday 19 June, the transfer to your new home in Seville. Everything went as planned. So that the whole process was as natural as possible, for a time, Rómulo has received special training so that he voluntarily entered the transport box. Once inside and under the continuous control of its caregivers and veterinarians, loading was carried out with a crane. The trip was carried out with the supervision of a veterinarian and with a specialized company, it began at nightfall by road, to take advantage of the cooler hours and today it is in good condition and in its new shelter.
Their new home is a nature reserve dedicated to housing animals in semi-freedom conditions for more than 10 years. Located in the town of El Castillo de las Guardas, 58 kilometers from Seville, it has 230 hectares of lush forest mass. Rómulo will live with different antelopes and will be able to enjoy a large outdoor enclosure of approximately 13.000 square meters with a natural pond where you can bathe and full of natural vegetation, including tall eucalyptus and pine trees.
