Over the last year Cynthia had been experiencing various health issues of which she was receiving numerous different treatments for but not responding to and unfortunately over the last few weeks we saw a massive deterioration in her health. On the 15^th October she suddenly declined even further and in consultation with our zoo vets the difficult decision was made to put Cynthia to sleep as there was nothing further we could do for her.

Cynthia was 18 years old, arrived at Colchester Zoo from South Africa with our other female White rhino Emily in September 2003. Since her time here at Colchester Zoo Cynthia gave birth to two male calves, one named Zamba on the 4^th October 2009 and the other is our most recent addition, Mabaso, born on 11^th July 2014. Zamba has since transferred to Manor House Wildlife Park in Wales to form a new bachelor group and Mabaso is still with us here at Colchester Zoo. Her most recent calf Mabaso is already being well taken care of by the other rhinos in the crash here at Colchester Zoo and will be kept a close eye on by his keepers. We are very proud of Cynthia and the legacy that she has left behind she has made a huge difference in the survival and conservation of her species who are near threatened due to the current poaching crisis. 

Curator, Sarah Forsyth commented, “Cynthia was a much loved resident who had an amazing personality and built a very strong relationship with her keepers. Cynthia will be very sadly missed. Although Cynthia will not be here at the zoo, her legacy lives on in her offspring, which makes Zamba and Mabaso even more special.”