Rare Rhinos Relocated from Czech Republic to Kenya

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This month, conservationists in the Czech Republic and Kenya launched an audacious bid to save one of the world's rarest animals: the northern white rhinoceros. Four of the last eight known northern whites in the world, two male and two female, were packed into wooden crates and sent from a Czech zoo to Kenya, where scientists hope they will get down to the business of breeding.

This month, conservationists in the Czech Republic and Kenya launched an audacious bid to save one of the world's rarest animals: the northern white rhinoceros. Four of the last eight known northern whites in the world, two male and two female, were packed into wooden crates and sent from a Czech zoo to Kenya, where scientists hope they will get down to the business of breeding.

The rhinos arrived at Nairobi's main airport at 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 19. Hamish Currie prowled the tarmac directing trucks, tractors and a giant crane as the animals came off the 747.

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"The trip went very well; they're all relaxed," said Currie, who directs the Back to Africa program, which helps return zoo animals to the wild. "But obviously we want to get them on the road as soon as possible and reduce their stress. So the trucks are waiting now and we're going to load two onto a truck with a crane, fasten them down and get out of here."

The rhinos were headed to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy near Mount Kenya to see if the climate and terrain will encourage them to breed.

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