Beth LeBlanc

Lansing State Journal

LANSING -- Matchmakers with a bent for species survival have hopes for love between two black rhinos living at opposite ends of the country.

Phineas, a native of the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas, is 9 years old, weighs in at 2,776 pounds, likes to paint and prefers grape jelly to strawberry.

Doppsee, a six-year resident of the Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, also is 9, weighs about 2,800 pounds and has a “great personality.”

Theirs is a long-distance relationship that just might work, according to the Black Rhino Species Survival Program through the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

That’s why zoo officials are ready to pay $8,784 to cart Phineas from Texas to Lansing in early April. Zoo officials hope to breed Phineas with Doppsee in an effort to grow the endangered population.

“Everybody’s excited to meet Phineas and learn what his personality is,” said Cynthia Wagner, director for Potter Park Zoo. “It’s not just about what’s happening at Potter Park Zoo; it’s about the whole population.”

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Phineas and Doppsee are among nearly 800 eastern black rhinos left after poachers decimated the population in Africa, said Lisa Smith, coordinator for the eastern black rhino species survival plan.

Smith said Doppsee and Phineas were matched from 58 eastern black rhinos among the 232 institutions accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums because of their similar ages and their lack of genetic similarities.

“These two have a very low kinship to each other,” Smith said. “Our big goal is to have a sustainable population long term.”

Love can't blossom without some logistics

The $8,784 cost to transport Phineas to Lansing still needs approval from county commissioners because it exceeds $5,000, Wagner said. The county services and finance committees will review the resolution Tuesday and Wednesday.

If commissioners sign off, Phineas will travel in a large crate that’s loaded aboard a climate-controlled truck and driven to Michigan. The crate will be offloaded using a crane.

Scotty Stainback, curator of mammals at the Caldwell Zoo, said zookeepers have been training Phineas for the 16-hour journey. Phineas has been eating in the crate while zookeepers make noises around it or open and close gates. He’s also been learning to drink out of a hose.

“It makes it as easy on the animal as possible,” Stainback said.

Once Phineas arrives in Lansing, he will be quarantined in a warm environment for some time. He’s sure to have a warm welcome from zookeepers in Lansing, Wagner said.

“It will be interesting to see how Doppsee reacts to a new male in the barn,” she said.

Stainback, who was present when Phineas was born in 2007, said he’s not worried about the rhino’s ability to make friends.

“He’s a really neat animal,” Stainback said. “We’re going to miss him a lot here at the zoo.”

A fundraising page to pay for transportation costs and other expenses has been set up at http://bit.ly/2mpCArX.

Contact Beth LeBlanc at (517) 377-1167, eleblanc@gannett.com, or on Twitter @LSJBethLeBlanc.