One of the three lions from Germany takes out its frustrations after 28 hours in a crate. Pic: Lwin Maung Maung

SENIOR officials from Yangon Zoological Gardens said last week that an animal exchange program between Yangon and Cologne Zoological Gardens in Germany had ended successfully.

Zoo director U Myint Swe and assistant director U Saw Win said the arrival of a breeding pair of three-year-old white rhinoceros in Yangon on March 4 and 7, followed by the arrival of one male and two female lions on March 8, marked the successful end of the program.

In exchange, the Yangon Zoo had sent two female Asian elephants, each about 12 years of age, to Germany last September.

The white rhinoceros weighed 1400 and 1800 kilograms respectively, while the three 18-month-old lions weighed an average of about 150 kilograms each.

The rhinoceros have been named Sein Toe (male) and Pont Pont (female), while the lions have yet to be given names.

U Saw Win said the exchange program provided the Yangon Zoo with the opportunity to increase the numbers of some of its rarest animals.

The animals were flown from South Africa, arriving in Yangon via a transfer in Kuala Lumpur to Thai Airways, for a total flight time of about 28 hours.

The deputy director of the Cologne Zoological Gardens, Dr Olaf Behlert, told the Myanmar Times on March 8 that one of the major challenges for the program was arranging transportation, as there were no big cargo planes flying to Yangon.

During the long transfer the rhinoceros became frightened and fatigued, breaking their horns on the crates and causing light injuries to themselves, but the lions were less of a problem because it is the nature of big cats to sleep more, he said.

“Now the animals are recovering and they look fine,” he said, adding that there was no need to worry about the rhinoceros horns as they will grow again.

The lions were sent directly to an enclosure where they were showcased on their arrival day, while the rhinoceros were kept in small cages to tranquillise them before being put on display on the same day as the lions.

The chief veterinarian at Yangon Zoo, Dr Khin Maung Win, said the animals were all healthy, and he said he hoped they would be adapted to their new environments after about a week.

U Myint Swe said the exchange program also included knowledge of transfer opportunities, and that some of the zoo attendants would travel to Germany to attend an animal management course at Cologne Zoo later this year.

It will be the first overseas training program for attendants at the zoo.
Dr Behlert said some specialists from Cologne would also travel to Yangon to provide training.

He said the elephants from Yangon Zoo, Shu Thuzar and Aye Chan May, were doing very well in Germany and had adapted well to the climate.

“It is winter in Germany, and even now they go out and play in the snow and even go swimming,” he said, adding that they had been accepted by other elephants at the zoo and were fully integrated into the herd.

“They really are part of the family now,” he said.