Taking a rhino across the world in a cargo plane

Emily Maxwell
(Photos at site)



Nov 18, 2015

Harapan is getting restless.

But 22 hours in a crate will do that to you.

The 1,800-pound rhino is throwing a temper tantrum. He stomps his
feet, kicks the back of the crate, lets out a few deep breaths.

"Oh, Haaaaarrraapaaaan," comes a calm, reassuring voice from outside
the crate. Cincinnati zookeeper Paul Reinhart has spent the better
part of this leg of the 10,000-mile trip on a charter flight from
Anchorage to Hong Kong in the cargo area with Harapan.

It was, after all, Reinhart's decision to transport the rhino from the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden — where Harapan has lived for the
last two years — without a tranquilizer.

Tranquilizers can mask an animal’s condition if something goes wrong.
The medical team's biggest concern was Harapan's legs swelling or
cramping inside the crate. Too much swelling could cause long-term
damage to his limbs. But at the same time, a nearly two-ton animal
that hasn't been sedated could pose enormous risk both in the cargo
plane and other legs of the journey.

"Are you sure, Paul?" veterinarian Dr. Jenny Nollman had asked before
they left. "But he kept saying, ‘He’s going to be calm and going to be
fine.’"

After spending 34 years at the zoo and a majority of his career caring
for Sumatran rhinos, Reinhart knows Harapan. He also knows it’s up to
him to keep Harapan — who has become to him over the years something
between a pet and a child — calm and fed for the next day and a half
of travel.

Harapan lets out gusts of teen-like angst and kicks the back of his
crate. His face pops out from the top of the crate, and Reinhart
strokes Harapan’s face near one of his horns. Harapan leans into
Reinhart’s hand.

It is a simple, sweet moment. A moment that perhaps shouldn't stick
out in a story of survival, of potential extinction.

Scientists estimate only 100 Sumatran rhinos are left in existence,
making Harapan one of the most valuable animals in the world.


Watch Emily Maxwell follow Paul and the team from the Cincinnati Zoo
as they bring Harapan to Sumatra to save his species.
It is up to Harapan and another male rhino at the Sumatran Rhino
Sanctuary in southern Sumatra to help keep the species from going
extinct. A 2-year-old male also lives on the grounds, but he won't be
sexually mature for years.

Millions of visitors saw Harapan at zoos over the years. Born in
Cincinnati, Harapan spent a stint at the Los Angeles Zoo before
returning to the Queen City in 2013. Now, he could be the key to
making sure the Sumatran rhino isn’t the next mammal to go extinct.

But first, the team has to get Harapan to his new home.

And with a day and a half of travel left, dwindling food supplies and
a restless rhino, Reinhart and the zoo team still have a long way to
go — and a host of obstacles to face, including the risk of poachers —
before they can begin thinking about goodbyes.

Operation Rhino Drop: How do you transport a rhino 10,000 miles?

Following the death of his sister, Suci, in 2014, Harapan became the
only Sumatran rhino in captivity in the Western Hemisphere.

“With Harapan going off to his new place, it is very sad for a lot of
us and we will miss him personally, but given the situation we were
in, it was the right thing to do,” said Dr. Terri Roth, director of
the Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Roth is also a prominent leader in the Sumatran rhino captive breeding
program.

Harapan's father, Ipuh, was the only male Sumatran rhino in captivity
in the United States when the program began in 1984. After a
breakthrough in research, Roth successfully bred Ipuh with his female
partner, Emi. She gave birth to the first Sumatran rhino calf born in
captivity in more than 112 years.

That calf was Andalas, Harapan's brother, who was transported to the
Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in 2007. The now-14-year-old rhino has
continued his Cincinnati family’s legacy, siring the first calf in
captivity in Indonesia three years ago.

And now it was Harapan's turn.

The zoo filed miles of paperwork with both the United States and
Indonesian governments as part of the months-long preparation process.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service needed to certify Harapan’s
departure. The Cincinnati Zoo had to book a space on board a Cathay
Pacific cargo plane for the 30-hour trek across the world. Harapan had
to undergo medical testing and vaccinations and spend 30 days in
quarantine before he could leave.

In August, the zoo announced Harapan would be leaving Cincinnati for
Indonesia to help keep his species from going extinct. At the time,
the Sumatran rhino was officially declared extinct in Malaysia.

The race was on for the zoo to transport Harapan to Sumatra. Since
Harapan was the prime age for breeding and needed to be moved while it
was still warm enough for him to be outside during transport, the zoo
had a lot to do. And quickly.

I first learned the zoo was planning to transport Harapan while
working on a story last year about his father, Ipuh. The zoo donated
his body to the Cincinnati Museum Center following his death in 2013.
I’ve never had a particular interest in rhinos, but wildlife
conservation has always been close to my heart.

When I was in kindergarten, I wanted to save the whales – even telling
people I had changed my name to “Emily Killer Whale Maxwell.” (That’s dedication, folks.) When I was 10, my interests shifted to zoology
after meeting famed zoo director Jack Hanna and posing for a photo
with him and a baby snow leopard.


My brother Nigel and myself with Jack Hanna at the Columbus Zoo.
My career veered down a different path, and I am now a photojournalist
for WCPO.com. In my five years here, I’ve weaseled my way into working
on several assignments about the Cincinnati Zoo. I’ve even been given
the unofficial title of “zoo beat reporter” for our digital team.

I casually pitched the idea to my editors last October. What if I go
with Harapan? Document the process? I mean, how cool would it be to
show people the logistics of transporting a rhinoceros 10,000 miles?

That began our own logistical gantlet.

The decision to go wasn’t made lightly. My life could be in danger on
the trip.

Our corporate risk analyst cautioned me about the threat of terrorism
in the region where we were traveling. ISIS had put out a bounty on
Western journalists because the group wants to behead journalists on
video and then share that video worldwide.

We had to take security precautions and even develop code words so
that I could communicate to my editor that I was safe while I was
gone.

I knew that despite the risk, this was too important a story to pass
up. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to document the last
Sumatran rhino the Western Hemisphere would likely see being
transported to his native homeland in an attempt to revive his
species. How could I not go?

I wasn’t officially approved to go until 8 a.m. the day before our
departure.

Before I knew it, I was riding in a zoo van in front of a Penske truck
carrying Harapan to Columbus.

Zoo employees load Harapan's crate into a moving truck. Emily Maxwell
| WCPO
.
Forget snakes: We put a rhino on a plane

A crowd of about 50 zoo employees gathered outside in a back lot of
the Cincinnati Zoo. It was Friday, Oct. 30: Harapan’s moving day and
there was hardly a dry eye in the house.

The crowd stared anxiously while a forklift moved Harapan’s wooden
crate until it was safely secured in the yellow Penske moving truck.

Reinhart stayed by Harapan’s side in the back of the Penske truck for
the two-hour drive to the Columbus airport. The rest of the team,
which included Nollman, zoo videographer Pat Story and myself, drove
in a van in front of the truck.

As I watched drivers pass our caravan on the highway, it struck me
that not one had a clue the truck was carrying one of the world’s most endangered animals.

Once in Columbus, teams from the zoo and Cathay Pacific spent hours
carefully packaging Harapan’s crate with supplies and food onto a
platform that would be moved inside the cargo plane.

The airline is no stranger to transporting animals abroad,
particularly race horses. While this was the first time a rhino had
been on board, the airline crew knew what to do. They lined the bottom
of the crate with plastic to prevent his waste (bet you didn’t think
you were going to read about rhino pee today) from spilling over in
the event the wood shavings inside the crate weren’t enough to soak it
up.

6:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 30: Crews prepare to load Harapan onto plane
in Columbus

After all of the other cargo had been arranged on the plane, workers
loaded Harapan and all of our gear.

Here is a look at the flight route. At each stop, we had a two-hour
layover. Unlike human passengers, Harapan didn’t get a chance to get
up and stretch his legs.


Rhinos’ personalities are similar to dogs. Maybe even toddlers. They
love people and attention. Naps are crucial. So are their favorite
snacks. And they get restless when they’re confined in a small space
for too long.

If something were to happen with Harapan, Nollman was on hand to
administer a tranquilizer or medications. But they had other ways to
help keep the rhino happy, and hoped only to have to medicate or
tranquilize him if absolutely necessary.

Reinhart and Nollman came prepared with Harapan’s favorite snacks:
apples and carrots. But they had to work around Transportation
Security Administration rules to prepare them: Knives weren’t allowed
on board, so Nollman used the steel bars of the crate to cut the
fruits and vegetables.

In the more than 30 hours in the air, the rhino only urinated a few
times. Harapan, apparently, has an enormous bladder.

He pooped just once at the very end of the trip. (Look at that. You
get to read about rhino poop today, too.)

I was afraid the smell would be something like walking into an unkempt
horse stall. But it was barely noticeable thanks to the wood chips.


Dr. Jenny Nollman prepares food for Harapan while aboard the cargo
plane. Emily Maxwell | WCPO
Aside from takeoff and landing, Reinhart and Nollman took turns
staying with Harapan in the cargo area.

“It’s an awesome responsibility to take care of one of the rarest
animals on earth, and bring him to the other side of the earth is an
even more awesome responsibility,” Reinhart said. “You never take that lightly.”

1:30 p.m. (Indonesian time), Sunday, Nov. 1, Indonesia: Plane arrives
in Jakarta

When we finally arrived in Jakarta, sleep-deprived, sun-deprived and
not really knowing what day it was, we were blasted by 94-degree heat.
The plane doors opened and a wave of humidity hovered over us as we
waited to be escorted to customs. Nollman stayed behind with Harapan
while the rest of us obtained work visas and presented the proper
paperwork so we could officially move the rhino off the plane. He had
been in his crate for about 40 hours at this point.

But Harapan was home.

Well, almost.

Staff members from the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary and Roth greeted us at
the airport. They were anxious to see how Harapan held up during the
long flight. He had slept most of the last leg of the trip, but his restlessness was settling in again with the commotion of the airport.

A dozen or so photographers and journalists swarmed his crate when he
was brought from the tarmac to the cargo area inside the terminal.
This was the last time a member of the public would likely see him in
person, and everyone wanted to get a look.


A media swarm greeted the Cincinnati Zoo team and Harapan when they
arrived in Jakarta. Emily Maxwell | WCPO
The Jakarta airport staff unpacked the last of his food and supplies, accidentally removing the plastic lining from the bottom of the crate.
A gush of rhino urine and poop oozed onto the cement floor, barely
missing the workers and us. There’s nothing funnier than splattered
rhino waste after 30-plus hours in an airplane.

Especially with the prospect of 10 more hours of travel to go.

The Race For Sumatra

A large crowd of spectators and media gathered as a forklift carried
Harapan’s crate out of the airport and into the back of a safari-like
truck with zebra stripes on the sides.

They were witnessing the world’s last Sumatran rhino outside of
Indonesia return to its native homeland. They knew this was a historic
moment.

Armed police escorted the truck out of the airport to keep crowds in
control and to make the drive to our next stop, a ferry dock about
three hours away, a bit easier.

About 9 million people live in Jakarta, and they all seemed to hit the
highway as soon as we did. Our team separated into vehicles with staff
members and volunteers from the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary who met us at
the airport. We were driving behind the rhino truck and police escort,
moving inches at a time. Motorcycles zipped in and out of traffic
while cars of all sizes switched lanes without warning.

“This isn’t bad for a Sunday,” said a volunteer with Yayasan Badak
Indonesia, also known as YABI or the International Rhino Foundation,
while sitting in the back seat of an SUV with me. Videographer Pat
Story and I politely grinned and held our collective breath as cars
merged across lanes just inches from each other.

Queen’s “I Just Want To Break Free” came on the radio — appropriate
for Harapan’s current state.


Staff from the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary drive Harapan's crate in a
truck to a ferry in Jakarta. Emily Maxwell | WCPO
By the time we arrived at the Sunda Strait Bridge, we were still about
six hours from the sanctuary, and Harapan had been crated for 43
hours.

At the dock, the vehicles traveling with the rhino filed onto the
ferry, where we spent the next three hours coasting the calm waters of
the Sunda Strait. The sky was pitch black, the humidity thick. A group
of locals, along with the zoo team and sanctuary staff, stood by the
rhino in the parking lot area on the ferry.

Reinhart, Nollman and Roth climbed onto the top of the truck with
Harapan’s crate to continue to look after Harapan, who went through a
few restless fits before finally falling asleep.

At this point, we had been wearing the same clothes for almost three
days and had hardly slept. A few of us took naps on benches in the
indoor area of the ferry — the last air-conditioned room we would
experience for the rest of our time in Sumatra. Others tried to catch
a breeze outside while the ferry continued along the water.

But the zoo team’s focus remained on a sleeping Harapan.

“I’ll be so glad when he’s out of his crate,” Reinhart said.

When Harapan woke, he ate plants retrieved from the rainforest in
Sumatra. It was the first time he had eaten plants from his native
land.

2 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2: Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary

When we finally arrived at the sanctuary, Harapan had been in his
crate for 51 hours. We were tired, sweaty and smelly. We had been in
Indonesia for more than 12 hours and traveling for 40, but it was far
from quitting time.

We were in the middle of the rainforest, using our cellphones as
flashlights to navigate the ground. A truck drove Harapan’s crate to
an enclosure in the park where a crane lifted him off the truck and
into his new paddock.

But the transition wasn’t as easy at night.

Harapan would be quarantined for at least a week until he acclimated
to his new environment. That meant his new area was covered in
mosquito netting. Crews from the sanctuary had to cut the netting so
the crane could lift his crate close enough to let him out safely. Men disappeared into the rainforest to cut down logs to slide his crate to
the doors of the pen.


Zookeeper Paul Reinhart watches Harapan as he takes his first few
steps after 53 hours in a crate. Emily Maxwell | WCPO
It took nearly two hours to complete the mission.

Finally, the crate opened, one side crashing to the ground.

“Go on Harapan…slooooow,” Reinhart coaxed him. “Gooood boy... Aww
there he is.”

A tired crew gave a round of applause as Harapan calmly took his first
steps in three days, backing slowly out of the crate into his new
enclosure. A pile of fresh plants and tree branches was waiting for
him and he began to munch on a much-deserved late-night snack. He
stretched his legs like a newborn calf, walking slowly in circles.

Harapan was finally home.


Harapan eats plants in his new enclosure at the Sumatran Rhino
Sanctuary in Lampung. Emily Maxwell | WCPO


Home Sweet Home: The Beginning and the End

The Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary is 250 acres of rainforest outside the
Way Kambas National Park in Lampung, Sumatra. Each rhino has 20-25
enclosed acres to themselves. Every morning the staff feeds them,
washes them and gives them routine medical exams. They spend only
about 2 to 3 hours in an enclosed space, then the rest of the time
browsing the rainforest.

The sanctuary has a female in mind for Harapan named Rosa. But before
Harapan can be introduced to her, he will remain in quarantine to
monitor his health until he adjusts to his new environment and the
various risks, such as native insects.

Thanks to the sanctuary’s Rhino Protection Unit, one of those risks is
no longer poachers. The Way Kambas National Park has not had a rhino
death because of poaching in more than eight years thanks to these
armed guards, who keep watch over the three females and three males
that live at the sanctuary.

Before the guards were brought to the sanctuary, the risk of poaching
was much higher. The Sumatran rhino is the only Asian rhino with two
horns, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine, making them a
valuable asset on the black market.


The Rhino Protection Unit
But why is it important to save this species? Why are governments
across the world joining forces to halt extinction?

For Roth, the answer is simple. It comes down to us.

The Sumatran rhino — to me it represents something different,” Roth
said. “The Sumatran rhino is a species that lives in the forest. It
does not compete for good farmland. It does not harm humans. It is not
a danger to humans. It is probably one of the most benign large
mammals on the planet. And the way I see it is, if we cannot manage to
live and allow something like that to live with us, if we can’t let
that happen, then what does that say about humanity itself and what
does it say about how anyone will live with wildlife in the coming
years? We have to take a stand, and we have to say that these animals
are important. They’re important to us for a lot of reasons, and we
have to show that we can live with other creatures on this earth. And
if we don’t, once we lose those other creatures, we will be lost as
well.”
Harapan's departure from Cincinnati signifies the end of U.S. zoos'
involvement in the Sumatran rhino breeding program. Roth has run the
program at the Cincinnati Zoo for the past 18 years.

During that time, she has shared her research with the Sumatran Rhino
Sanctuary staff, specifically helping them to breed Harapan's
relatives Andalas and Ratu. The next success will (hopefully) be
Harapan’s offspring, which makes walking away from the program a tad
easier for Roth to bear.


Paul Reinhart hugs Andalas, the first Sumatran rhino to be born in
captivity in more than 112 years. He was born at the Cincinnati Zoo in
2001 and was transported to the sanctuary in 2007. Emily Maxwell |
WCPO
“I think the kind of contribution we’ve already made and the one yet
to be made is something that nobody can ever take away from the
Cincinnati Zoo,” Roth said. “Nobody can ever take it away from me.
We’ve done our small part.”

At 8 years old, Harapan is at his prime — both sexually and socially —
to interact with other rhinos, which is why the zoo wanted to act
quickly.

"Sumatran rhino conservation is not only for Indonesia, but the
species belongs to the world. Therefore, I think the value of Harapan
is very big," said Widobo Ramono, executive director of the
International Rhino Foundation.

Ramono has worked closely with Roth over the years on the global
effort to conserve the species. He's thankful the zoo shared its
scientific advancements in breeding with the sanctuary.

With a dwindling population of less than 100, even just one rhino
counts, Ramono said.

“The thing about the value of this (Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary), is that
we only had five and now we have six. That is more than 20 percent of
the value of the whole rhino conservation,” Ramono said.

‘Harapan Means Hope’

5 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary

It's the last day of the trip. And it's time to say goodbye to
Harapan.

I asked Reinhart how he would describe his relationship with the
rhino. His response? He's family.

Reinhart spent the night before sleeping next to Harapan’s stall,
fully exposed in the dark rainforest.

“People are going to think I’m weird, but we said our peace. I told
him he was going to be OK,” Reinhart says as Harapan chews on
Reinhart’s clothes, playfully seeking his attention.


Paul Reinhart says his final goodbyes to Harapan at the sanctuary.
Emily Maxwell | WCPO
He sits down on the wet cement floor of Harapan’s enclosure. The man
and the rhino lean against each other.

“You’re going to be a good boy here,” Reinhart says as he pats and
strokes the rough skin around Harapan’s face. He gently holds the
animal’s upper horn.

Reinhart has cared for every member of Harapan’s family over the
years. So he is saying goodbye to a lot more than just one rhino.

But knowing Harapan could help revive the species helps Reinhart with
his final farewell.

“Emily…you said, ‘Is there hope for Sumatran rhinos?’ and the answer
is yes, there is. There’s Harapan. And Harapan means hope. He’s going
to come through,” Reinhart says, stroking Harapan’s face.


Harapan walks back to his new enclosure after the zoo team walks away
from the paddock. Emily Maxwell | WCPO
After feeding Harapan one last banana –- his favorite treat --
Reinhart gives him one final pat and walks away from the enclosure for
the last time.

Harapan follows until he reaches the edge of the fence. He stands
still for a few seconds, then walks into his new life.

Photojournalist Emily Maxwell spent seven days traveling with the team
from the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden to document the
transportation of Harapan, the last Sumatran rhino in captivity in the
Western Hemisphere. Harapan is now living in the Sumatran Rhino
Sanctuary in Sumatra, Indonesia. Follow her on Twitter @EmilyWCPO and
Instagram @emaxphoto.

http://www.wcpo.com/longform/from-cincinnati-to-sumatra-taking-a-rhino-across-the-world-in-a-cargo-plane?google_editors_picks=true

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