scholarly journals Captive Rhinoceroses in Europe from 1500 until 1810

1973 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. C. Rookmaaker
Keyword(s):  
Rhinoceros Unicornis ◽  
History Of

Between 1500 and 1810 ten rhinoceroses have been recorded in Europe, while two others died on their way to Europe. The history of these animals is given here. Eleven specimens belonged to Rhinoceros unicornis, one to Rhinoceros sondaicus. Two doubtful reports are also on record.

The lives of three rhinoceroses exhibited in London 1790–1814

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees Rookmaaker ◽  
John Gannon ◽  
Jim Monson
Keyword(s):  
Rhinoceros Unicornis ◽  
History Of ◽  
Drury Lane

The history of three living Indian rhinoceroses (Rhinoceros unicornis) exhibited at the Exeter ’Change and the adjoining Lyceum on the Strand in London is detailed. The animals were owned by three successive proprietors of the menagerie: Thomas Clark, Gilbert Pidcock and Stephen Polito. Clark's rhinoceros arrived on 5 June 1790 as a two-year-old from India, largely exhibited at the Lyceum, but shown at Windsor and Ascot races in June 1793 and elsewhere in England until his death in Cosham near Portsmouth (not Corsham) in July 1793. The skin was mounted, possibly bought by William Bullock and subsequently by the Royal Museum in Edinburgh. A painting by George Stubbs should show this animal, but a discrepancy in age and stature is discussed. Pidcock's rhinoceros was acquired in 1799, dying early in 1800 in Drury Lane, after acquisition by an agent of the German Emperor, Francis II. He is shown on token half-pennies issued by Pidcock, and sketched by artist Samuel Howitt. Polito's rhinoceros arrived in July 1810, toured England in 1811, and was sold to the continent in October 1814. Howitt incorporated this animal into his artwork.

The rhinoceros (fl. 1770–1793) of King Louis XV and its horns

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Péquignot
Keyword(s):  
West Bengal ◽  
Museum Studies ◽  
Rhinoceros Unicornis ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Louis Xv

While receiving remarkable animals as presents was a common practice among European monarchs, the rhinoceros of Louis XV (Rhinoceros unicornis) became one of the most famous. The live male Indian rhinoceros was a gift to the King from Jean-Baptiste Chevalier, French governor of Chandannagar in West Bengal. It left Calcutta on 22 December 1769, and arrived in the port of Lorient, Brittany, six months later on 11 June 1770. From there it was transported to the royal menagerie in Versailles, which had been built in response to increasing interest in zoology and Louis XIV's passion for the exotic, in 1664. When the rhinoceros died in 1793, having been in captivity in France for more than 20 years, its skeleton and stuffed hide were preserved and have been held since then in the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. Here it remains on exhibition as an almost three-hundred year old relic of R. unicornis, an invaluable source for museum studies and the history of taxidermy. Why the original horn of this rhinoceros was replaced by a much longer one, and why, in turn, this was replaced by a short one is discussed.

scholarly journals Consideration of genetic variation and evolutionary history in future conservation of Indian one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tista Ghosh ◽  
Shrewshree Kumar ◽  
Kirtika Sharma ◽  
Parikshit Kakati ◽  
Amit Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Uttar Pradesh ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Rhinoceros Unicornis ◽  
History Of

The extant members of the Eurasian rhino species have experienced severe population and range declines through a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors since the Pleistocene. The one-horned rhino is the only Asian species recovered from such strong population decline but most of their fragmented populations in India and Nepal are reaching carrying capacity. Implementation of any future reintroduction-based conservation efforts would greatly benefit from currently unavailable detailed genetic assessments and the evolutionary history of these populations. We sequenced wild one-horned rhino mitogenomes from all the extant populations (n=16 individuals) for the first time, identified the polymorphic sites and assessed genetic variation (2531bp mtDNA, n=111 individuals) across India. Results showed 30 unique rhino haplotypes distributed as three distinct genetic clades (Fst value 0.68-1) corresponding to the states of Assam (n=28 haplotypes), West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh (both monomorphic). Phylogenetic analyses suggest earlier coalescence of Assam (~0.5 Mya) followed by parallel divergence of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh/Nepal (~0.06-0.05Mya), supported by the paleobiogeographic history of the Indian subcontinent. Combined together, we propose recognising three Evolutionary Significant Units (ESUs) of the Indian rhino. As recent assessments suggest further genetic isolations of the Indian rhinos at local scales, future management efforts should focus on identifying genetically variable founder animals and consider periodic supplementation events while planning future rhino reintroduction programs in India. Such well-informed, multidisciplinary approach is the only way to ensure evolutionary, ecological and demographic stability of the species across its range.

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