It was not possible to save Diuna, an over 36-year-old rhinoceros, the symbol of the Poznań Zoo, informed the Poznań Zoo. As reported, the cause of death was pancreatic cancer.
The employees of the Poznań Zoo found out the official cause of Diuna’s death after an autopsy. They announced its results on Thursday.
“The cause of death was pancreatic cancer with probable metastases to the lungs. During the autopsy, minor changes in internal organs and age-related changes were also detected,” we read in the information provided by the zoo on social media.
“Long life, a piece of history, a beloved rhinoceros”
The rhinoceros, whose image appears in the garden’s logo, died on Wednesday morning. “Duna passed away before 6 a.m. today. She was 36 and a half years old,” the zoo reported.
Logo of the Poznań ZooZoo Poznań
“Diuna, we consider it a gift from fate that we had the opportunity to meet you. Thank you for your peace, patience and character. Goodbye Diunka. We feel honored,” we read in the zoo’s post.
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The poor condition of Diuna was reported already on Tuesday. “A long life, a piece of history, a beloved rhinoceros… We immediately called for help from the best specialists, Dr. Julia Bohner and the latest diagnostic equipment from the IZW in Berlin came to help. But the prognosis is poor,” it was reported.
She came from South Africa, she had two partners
Dune represented the southern subspecies of the white rhinoceros. She was born in Lichtenburg Center near Pretoria, South Africa. She came to Poznań in September 1997. She had two partners: Dino and Kiwu.
With the first one she had three offspring (one turned out to be dead after birth). Over time, the couple’s relationship stopped working out. – We can talk about an open conflict between them – said Marta Grześkowiak from the breeding department in 2013.
Then the decision was made that Dino would leave the garden and go to Erfurt. – This is not a punishment. White rhinos are an endangered species, so reproduction is very important for them. Meanwhile, in Poznań we have not had any young people for several years. Therefore, the rhino keeper decided it would be better if he left, she explained.
Two other females were waiting for Dino in Erfurt.
Kivu, then 32, went on a journey in the opposite direction. “So he came for ‘new experiences’, to meet our female Duuna and perhaps have cubs with her,” the garden’s employees wrote at the time. Unfortunately, the young couple did not live to see each other.
Kivu died five years ago. His horn was burned after his death. – Burning rhinoceros horn is our symbolic opposition to the murder of the population of these beautiful giants, which are dying before our eyes. All rhinoceros species currently living on Earth are critically endangered, said Ewa Zgrabczyńska, director of the Poznań Zoo.
Main photo source: Zoo Poznań