Turkey's first rhino arrives in Kocaeli after seven-hour travel

KOCAELİ - Doğan News Agency

The rhino Samir was replaced in his new shelter at the Darıca Zoo. He will have a girlfriend next year. AA Photo

After a tough seven-day journey from Edinburgh, Turkey’s first Indian rhino Samir has arrived in the Darıca Faruk Yalçın Zoo and Botanical Park in the northwestern province of Kocaeli’s Darıca district. 

A female rhino will also be brought over next year for the seven-year-old, 3.5-ton Samir. 

With his special cage, Samir was carried by a crane from the vehicle and moved to his new shelter in the zoo. 

Along with Samir, seven antelope species, called Nilgai, and three ostriches have recently been brought to the Darıca Faruk Yalçın Zoo. 

The director of the zoo, Yücel Yılmaz, said they had finally managed to bring over Samir after almost two years of work. 

“As a result of two years of work and seven days of travel, he has arrived in our park. He had to wait in Bulgaria for one day because of some problems, but then everything was solved and he arrived here … He is a herbivore so he will be fed with special foods, fruits, clovers and oats,” Yılmaz said. He added that the female rhino would be brought to the zoo next April or May. 

“Samir is an Indian rhino. Another name is the armored rhino. They can live until the age of 40. He will have a female friend. He is an endangered animal, just like many others. They are very precious as they are often hunted for their horns. Their difference from other rhinos is the structure of their skin and the fact they have a single horn. Others have two horns,” Yılmaz said.

He also stated that the zoo had prepared a 450-square meter closed area for Samir as well as a 3,000-square meter open area, costing a total of 1.2 million Turkish Liras.