Grandpa Toby, the world’s oldest white rhinoceros, dies at the age of 54 after collapsing on his way to bed at the Italian zoo
- The rhinoceros, affectionately known as Grandpa Tony, died in Parco Natura Viva Zoo
- He died after falling to the ground while returning to his nightly shelter
- Toby is embalmed and exhibited in a science museum in Trento
The world’s oldest white rhinoceros, affectionately known as Grandpa Tony, collapsed on his way to bed in a northern Italian zoo at the age of 54.
‘Nonno Toby’ died after falling to the ground on October 6th in his night shelter at Parco Natura Viva, a zoo near the northern city of Verona.
“He collapsed on the way back to his night quarters and after about half an hour his heart stopped,” said Elisa Livia Pennacchioni, the zoo’s spokeswoman.
Toby will be embalmed and exhibited at the MuSe science museum in Trento, where he will join Blanco, a white lion from the zoo who died five years ago, Pennacchioni said.
The world’s oldest white rhinoceros, affectionately known as Grandpa Tony (pictured in 2019), has died at the age of 54 after collapsing on his way to bed at a zoo in northern Italy
‘Nonno Toby’ died after falling to the ground on October 6th in his night shelter at Parco Natura Viva, a zoo near the northern city of Verona
White rhinos typically live to be up to 40 years old when kept in captivity and up to 30 years in the wild, she said.
Zoo boss Cesare Avesani Zaborra said: “We knew it would happen sooner or later, but the last hour of the ‘good giant’ who has built the history of the last half century with us remains deeply sad.
Toby’s death, which followed the death of his partner Sugar in 2012, leaves a remaining white rhinoceros in Parco Natura Viva: Benno, 39 years old.
Toby was a southern white rhinoceros – just one of five species of rhinoceros that are not endangered, with an estimated population of around 18,000, according to WWF.
Of the subspecies of the northern white rhinoceros living in Kenya, however, there are only two specimens left, which are monitored by armed guards around the clock, says the environmental group.
Toby (picture 2017) will be embalmed and exhibited in the Science Museum MuSe in Trento, where he will accompany Blanco, a white lion from the zoo who died five years ago, Pennacchioni said.
White rhinos typically live up to 40 years when kept in captivity and up to 30 years in the wild. Pictured: Toby at the Italian Zoo 2016
Toby was a southern white rhinoceros – just one of five species of rhinoceros that are not endangered, with an estimated population of around 18,000, according to WWF
Rhinos are killed for their horns, which are highly valued across Asia for traditional and medicinal uses.
Breeding is difficult, however, as a female gives birth to a calf only every three to four years after a 16-month gestation.
In 2019, the world’s oldest black rhinoceros died at the age of 57 in a Tanzanian sanctuary after spending most of its life in the wild.
The female rhinoceros named Fausta allegedly died of natural causes on December 27, 2019, according to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority.
