U.S. stud rhino needs to perform

JAKARTA, April 26 (UPI) -- Andalas, the U.S.-based Sumatran stud rhino has been a guest in Indonesia since February but is yet to oblige his female hosts at the Sumatra rhino sanctuary.

Keepers at the Way Kambas National Park on the Sumatran island have been giving the 5-year-old, 1,540-pound bull on loan from the Los Angeles Zoo the royal treatment to nudge him to do his part in saving his species, which is facing extinction due to poaching and illegal logging.

Only about 300 Sumatran rhinos are reported to be alive in their natural habitat. Andalas is the first Sumatran rhino born in captivity in 112 years and his Indonesian hosts want to see if the process can be repeated, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Andalas' daily pampering includes hand feeding him his favorite ficus leaves, playing hide-and-seek in the rain forest, nuzzling him nose to horn and massaging his cracked feet as well as the soft spots of his enormous read, all designed to heighten his needs, said the report.

But as with the rest of his species, Andalas needs much privacy to do what he must. Experts told the Times Sumatran rhinos also need long, regular wallows in gooey mud unsullied by their own waste to get into the mood, conditions they don't often find at zoos.