Longtime NC Zoo southern white rhino Olivia dies

A southern white rhinoceros who lived at the North Carolina Zoo for more than 30 years has died. Olivia was one of the oldest female rhinos in the country’s network of zoos.

Olivia had lived at the zoo since 1987 and was 54 years old when she passed away Thursday. Zoo officials say that’s unusually old for a white rhinoceros, who tend to live into their 30s in the wild and 40s in captivity.

She had developed health issues, leading a team of animal care and veterinarians to make the decision to euthanize the animal.

Olivia was brought to the zoo to be a breeding pair with a male rhino named Stan. They did not produce any offspring and spent several years in an annex out of public view.

Stan died in 2019.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, southern white rhinos are considered to be “Near Threatened,” with about 18,000 living in protected areas and private game reserves. 

The North Carolina Zoo now has eight remaining rhinos, all of them female.