Brevard rhino sent to Alabama for breeding program - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) - Max, the white rhinoceros has headed north for love. Brevard Zoo spokeswoman Michelle Smurl says the 13-year-old rhino was recently moved to the Birmingham Zoo to be part of a national breeding program. He had lived at the Melbourne zoo since 2003.

Florida Today (http://on.flatoday.com/YPM1Mz ) reports the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan saw Max as a potential mate for two Southern white Rhinos at the Alabama zoo. Their names are Laptop and Ajabu.

Smurl says the number of white rhinos has been declining in the wild due to poaching and habitat destruction. The Southern white rhino species is classified as "near threatened" with only about 20,150 left in the wild.

Wes Sims of the Birmingham Zoo says Max is already checking out "our girls."

Information from: Florida Today (Melbourne, Fla.), http://www.floridatoday.com

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