Rhinos coming to Seattle for first time in zoo's history

SEATTLE — Rhinos are coming to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

Zoo officials Thursday announced the upcoming "rhino experience," expected in spring of 2018.

It will be a first for the zoo in its 118-year history.

The exhibit, the Assam Rhino Reserve, will be temporary and serve to amplify the cruelty of poaching.

Zoo officials say the exhibit will host greater one-horned rhinoceros, Asian brown tortoises and demoiselle cranes.

Five species of rhinos survive today: black, white, greater one-horned, Sumatran and Javan; officials with the zoo say the rhino population is less than 30,000 total worldwide.

"Rhinos are not only impressive animals by virtue of their massive size and charisma, but are iconic symbols of illegal wildlife trafficking," Woodland Park Zoo president and CEO Alejandro Grajal said. "While there is recent good news about the greater one-horned rhino making a recovery, the five surviving species of rhinos still face a precarious future. Bringing rhinos to the zoo allows us to tell a powerful conservation story about hope—the vast network of partners, including zoos, that is focused on saving the greater one-horned rhino and the need to continue working to protect all rhino species."

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