The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium is morning the loss of one of its largest animals.<\/p>\n
The Zoo says Jomo, a 30-year-old male eastern black rhinoceros was euthanized on Thursday due to age-related issued.<\/p>\n
The Zoo says Jomo was one of the oldest rhinoceroses in North American and had been undergoing treatment over the past several weeks.<\/p>\n
But, last week, Jomo\u2019s health declined with loss of appetite and increased lethargy.<\/p>\n
The Zoo says staff made Jomo as comfortable as possible and after several meetings, it was decided that there were no remaining options for him.<\/p>\n
Born in 1995 at the San Diego Zoo, Jomo lived well beyond the median life expectancy for black rhinos (20.2 years).<\/p>\n
Jomo was the last remaining rhino at the Zoo.<\/p>\n
\u201cJomo was one of the nicest animals in the Zoo,\u201d said Vice President of Living Collections Dr. Chris Bonar. \u201cIn fact, he was one of the nicest animals that I ever met. He will be greatly missed.\u201d Assistant Curator of Mammals Karen Vacco said, \u201cI\u2019m honored that Jomo has been a part of my life since the day he arrived. I will miss giving him back rubs until he fell asleep and the baby soft spot behind his ears. He will be missed by so many.\u201d<\/p>\n