CUMBERLAND, Ohio — Bouncing down a gravel road in the back of a pickup truck, Toledo Zoo staff squinted in the glaring sun as they approached a group of buildings set into a small valley.

“Is that him?” one of the five asked, spying a large creature calmly standing in an outdoor pen attached to one of the buildings.

“No, that’s a white rhino,” another responded.

Representatives from the Toledo Zoo traveled Thursday to the Wilds, a nearly 10,000-acre conservation center near Cumberland, Ohio — east of Columbus — under the umbrella of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. The truck stopped outside the building in a cloud of dust. The group climbed out and filed into the barn.

“There’s your boy,” Dave Clawson, an animal manager at the Wilds, said, indicating a smaller rhinoceros through a window in the entry area. The animal took a quick look at the group, then turned and escaped through a doorway into the sun and another pen.

Aashish, a 3½-year-old Indian rhino born at the center, will move to the Glass City later this month. The Toledo Zoo has been without a rhino since Sam, an elderly southern white rhinoceros, died in October. His older female companion, Lulu, died in her sleep in August of 2016.

VIDEO: Toledo Zoo staff meet Aashish, an Indian Rhino who will soon call Toledo home

Michael Frushour, curator of mammals at the Toledo Zoo, said the Indian rhino — also called the greater one-horned rhinoceros — will be a new species for the zoo. Officials decided to switch from the African variety to the Asian one to better suit the weather in northwest Ohio.

“They’re more cold-hardy,” Mr. Frushour said. Aashish “will be able to be outside longer.”

Thursday’s trip allowed staff to not only meet Aashish, but see for themselves how he has lived since he was born and talk at length with his caretakers. They toured barns and pastures, discussed general rhino management practices, inspected the feed and substrate material the center uses, reviewed veterinary records, checked out the crate Aashish will travel in, and went over logistics for the move.

“I couldn’t be happier with what we got to see here,” Mr. Frushour said. “We want to make sure everything goes perfect.”

The Toledo Zoo has been updating its rhino exhibit in Tembo Trail to ensure the young, active male will have plenty of room to roam safely. Indian rhinos enjoy being in water, so Aashish will have multiple areas to access the moat that surrounds the exhibit.

“The white rhinos really didn’t utilize the moat, so we had to make sure he could get in the water but couldn’t get out of the enclosure,” Mr. Frushour said. “If he’s in the water, the public is going to be really close. It’s going to be really cool to have that.”

Dan Beetem, director of animal management at the Wilds, said Aashish is moving to Toledo at the recommendation of the Species Survival Plan for Indian rhinos, a program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that oversees animal breeding and placement in accredited facilities.

“Toledo is providing a place for this young male as he grows up,” Mr. Beetem said. “Now that he’s 3½, he’s too old to have out there with an adult bull. He would get himself in trouble at this point. So it’s nice to have a home for him to move on to.”

The Toledo Zoo will own Aashish, and he will remain in the Glass City for the foreseeable future. Indian rhinos are primarily solitary animals, although Mr. Frushour said the zoo may eventually obtain a female companion for him for potential breeding. There have been no discussions on that possibility at this point, he said.

Cody Cseplo, animal management specialist at the Wilds, said Aashish tends to be shy initially.

“That’s his default; that’s a lot of Indian rhinos’ default is being shy,” he said. “But once you stand there and he knows you’re not a threat, he calms down. He’s inquisitive and he’ll figure it out.”

Mr. Cseplo said Aashish is intelligent, patient, and trains well. He’s young and naturally tests his boundaries, which he’ll do even more so when he reaches sexual maturity in a few years and develops into his adult personality.

Mr. Beetem said once repairs and modifications to the transport crate are finished, Aashish will train with it before he is loaded up and sent north. Moving a rhino “is not an easy thing,” he said, but the center regularly breeds southern white and Indian rhinos and must send animals to new homes.

“We’ve probably averaged two rhino moves a year since I’ve been here,” he said. “The folks here have a lot of experience with it. [Aashish] will actually be the third rhino we’ve moved this spring.”

The Wilds has three other Indian rhinos: Aashish’s mother, Sanya, his half-sister Priya, and a newly introduced bull. Priya will be moved to a new home soon, and the center also maintains a herd of 15 southern white rhinos, including four calves.

When he arrives in Toledo later this month, the public should be able to see Aashish right away. He will be able to complete a standard quarantine period in his exhibit.

“I can’t reiterate enough how excited we are,” Mr. Frushour said. “This is one of the biggest things to happen for the zoo this year.” 

Contact Alexandra Mester at: amester@theblade.com, 419-724-6066, or on Twitter @AlexMesterBlade.

First Published May 4, 2018, 9:54 p.m.