Frank Valoy- Chapter 11: The Rhino Gets an Ultrasound

             In chapter 11, Elizabeth Kolbert goes to Cincinnati Zoo and she sees a Sumatran rhino named Suci. At the zoo, Dr. Terri Roth attempts to have Suci ovulate so she can become pregnant. However, when Roth gave Suci an ultrasound, no eggs were released and Kolbert noticed that Roth was not surprised. (P) Since Roth wasn’t surprised, I assumed that this has been an issue for a while.
             Then, Kolbert mentions that the Sumatran rhino species have been decreasing and a captive breeding program are attempting to preserve them. The program had difficulties trying to get the rhinos pregnant and some rhinos died because they weren’t being kept in the proper conditions. For instance, the rhinos in the program were being fed hay, but that’s not their usual diet.
             The next day, Kolbert visited Suci again and the zookeepers weighed her. She weighed 1,507 lbs. It was said that Suci weighed 70 lbs when she was born and that there is an advantage of being large in size. With this idea, Kolbert began talking about other large species in the past that have been extinct and she was wondering how they disappeared in such a short amount of time.
             Later on, Kolbert talks about when she went to Big Bone Lick, a park that displayed replicas of extinct species with a museum and a gift shop. At this park, she learned about the causes of the megafauna extinction and they followed a common theme. They all dealt with humans. It was also found out that the megafauna extinction happened in a sequence of pulses that corresponded to the sequence of human settlement. After mentioning this discovery, the last line of this chapter stated, “Though it might be nice to imagine there once was a time when man lived in harmony with nature, it’s not clear that he ever really did” (Pg. 235). (P) Based on this accusation, I believe that she’s right, unfortunately. Humans are the ones who’ve been polluting the air and the oceans. Humans have been the ones littering and using up so much land that the Earth has to offer. I hope there will be a way humans can live in harmony with nature, but I feel that this won’t be the case in the future. This quote relates to the theme “Humans have had an impact on the environment for millions of years” because Kolbert is suggesting that humans have always harmed the environment for their own personal gain, creating destruction that animals, plants, and insects must struggle through.

Dr. Terri Roth with Suci