Nola (August 21, 1974 – November 22, 2015) was a northern white rhinoceros who lived at the

San Diego Zoo Safari Park The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is a zoo and safari park in Escondido, California, Escondido, a suburb of the city of San Diego, California, located in San Pasqual Valley, San Diego, San Pasqual Valley. Opened in 1972, the park operates as a sis ...

near

Escondido, California Escondido (Spanish language, Spanish for "Hidden") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County (San Diego area), North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San ...

, United States. At her death, she was one of only four of her subspecies overall. She was outlived by male

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and females Najin and Fatu.

Background

Nola was wild caught in the Shambe area, which is located "in the southern savanna woodlands of

. She was rescued from the violent poaching that is prevalent in that region when she was only a few years old." Her age upon capture has been estimated more closely at being 18 months old. She belonged to the Dvůr Králové Zoo in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, but since 1989 she had been on loan in San Diego.

San Diego Zoo

Nola lived at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s South Africa field habitat. She was in the same enclosure as her counterpart Angalifu, but he was moved to the Central Africa field habitat at the zoo before his death on December 14, 2014. Nola's lead keeper at the zoo was Jane Kennedy. While at the zoo, Nola had been described by PBS as "independent and aggressive". A photographer who shot photos of Nola numerous times said, "As any rhino might, Nola enjoys her daily belly scratches and neck rubs, carrots, and the occasional bucket of apples. She spends her days indulging in the warm Southern California weather sunbathing." She shared her enclosure with other African animals, including Cape Buffalo,

giraffes The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant re ...

and gazelles. Irv Erdos, a writer for ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'', endorsed the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy's mission to bring animals back from the brink of extinction, specifically mentioning Nola. Erdos said he has visited Nola "at least a dozen times."

Breeding

In 1996, Nola refused advances by Angalifu, a male northern white rhino at the San Diego Zoo that staff hoped would mate. Nola was given hormones to make her more receptive to Angalifu's advances. After her food was mixed with

prostaglandin Prostaglandins (PG) are a group of physiology, physiologically active lipid compounds called eicosanoids that have diverse hormone-like effects in animals. Prostaglandins have been found in almost every Tissue (biology), tissue in humans and ot ...

, followed by a two-week daily dose of oral

progesterone Progesterone (; P4) is an endogenous steroid and progestogen sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and embryogenesis of humans and other species. It belongs to a group of steroid hormones called the progestogens and is the ma ...

, Nola became receptive to Angalifu's advances and the two mated for 20-30 minutes the first time. Following that mating, the two continued to copulate, but no pregnancy resulted from the pairing. Nola was too old to be bred at that point, and as of 2014 was considered "elderly". In 2015 she suffered from recurring abscesses on one hip.

Death

Nola had been under veterinary care for a bacterial infection, as well as age-related health issues. After her health rapidly declined over the previous day, her caretakers had her euthanized on November 22, 2015."Nola, one of four remaining white rhinos in the world, dies", from Reuters, via ''The Independent''
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References

{{San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Individual rhinoceroses 2015 animal deaths San Diego Zoo Individual animals in the Czech Republic Individual animals in the United States