Francesco Nardelli

Francesco Romano Nardelli was born on 5th September 1953 in Rome, Italy, where he currently lives. He is a reputable Italian naturalist who has dedicated his life to the protection and conservation of endangered species. He’s also the founder of the Sumatran Rhino Project [http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=refs&CODE=note_detail&id=1165253601] , one of the most important coordinated efforts to save a critically endangered species [http://www.iucnredlist.org] .

In 1972, Nardelli established a private Wild Felids Breeding Center near Rome, where he successfully bred in captivity several threatened species including the Red-shanked Douc langur ("Pygathrix nemaeus"), the Snow leopard ("Uncia uncia"), the Clouded leopard ("Neofelis nebulosa").

In 1980 he moved to England, where he became Curator of Howletts and Port Lympne Zoo, John Aspinall’s Zoos in Kent. There he was responsible for the setting up of new exhibits and directed with success several breeding programs including African elephant ("Loxodonta Africana"), (first ever bred in U.K.), Western lowland Gorilla ("Gorilla g. gorilla"), Siamang ("Symphalangus syndactylus"), Red-shanked Douc langur ("Pygathrix nemaeus") Surili langurs ("Presbytis sp".) Clouded leopard ("Neofelis nebulosa"), Snow leopard ("Uncia uncia").

In 1982 he conceived and directed the Sumatran Rhino Project [http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=refs&CODE=note_detail&id=1165252955] , the first international program for the conservation of the Sumatran Rhino ("Dicerorhinus sumatrensis"). That scheme was, and it still is, a collaborative effort involving – for the fist time – national governments, local agencies, european and asian conservation centers and international zoological institutions, to save this species from extintion [The signing of the agreement by Professor Rubini, on behalf of the Directorate, and Francesco Nardelli, on behalf of John Aspinall and the Howletts and Port Lympne Foundation , was witnessed and endorsed by the Indonesian Minister of Forestry and the British Ambassador, who described the project as an imaginative illustration of the sort of collaboration between the two countries discussed by the Indonesian President and the British Prime Minister during Mrs Thatcher's visit. For more details see: http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=refs&CODE=note_detail&id=1165253601] .

Under Nardelli's leadership, the Indonesian Government, Howletts and Port Lympne Zoo [http://www.totallywild.net] , the Cincinnati, San Diego, New York and Los Angeles zoos, all played a crucial role in the success of the project. This plan is continuing under the leadership of the Department of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation of the Indonesian Government, assisted by the U.K. based Save the Rhino International, the U.S.A.’s International Rhino Foundation and other agencies.

Thanks to this groundbreaking project, in 1985 the Indonesian Government signed an historic agreement for the conservation of the Sumatran Rhino. This critically endangered species has today a scattered population of around 300 individuals in the wild. Another legacy of the Sumatran Rhino Project is that several conservation agencies in Europe and North America, are committed to save these very few animals.

Among other success stories related to this program is the birth in captivity of three calves of Sumatran Rhinos [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070501095539.htm] at the Cincinnati Zoo: on 13th September 2001. Andalas [http://www.aza.org/Publications/2007/05/mission_imposs.pdf] , a male, was the first of his species born in captivity since 1889 [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003702448_rhinoparents11.html] . His mother, Emi, has since had two more calves in Cincinnati: a female born in 2004 and a male born in 2007. "Ten years ago many people were skeptical claiming this species would never breed in a zoo. Yet today, the Cincinnati Zoo is world renowned for being the only place in the world this species is breeding successfully in captivity," said Dr. Terri Roth, Vice President of Conservation, Science and Living Collections at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. On April 29, 2007 Emi became the first Sumatran rhino in history to produce three calves in captivity, breaking her very own record. [Dr. Terri Roth, Vice President of Conservation, Science and Living Collections at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070501095539.htm]

Nardelli's passionate commitment to the protection and conservation of Sumatran Rhinos inspired him to author “The Rhinoceros” (Basilisk Press, London) [http://siris-libraries.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!380457!0#focus] a monograph featuring colored plates by renamed wildlife artist Matthew Hillier [http://matthewhillierart.com/] , describing the life and history of the five surviving species of rhinoceroses.

In 1987 has co-founded the Yayasan Badak Indonesia (Indonesian Rhino Foundation), in Jakarta, a non profit organization for the long term conservation of rhinos in South-East Asia and is a Patron of Save the Rhino, since 2003 [http://www.savetherhino.org/eTargetSRINM/site/754/default.aspx] .

He regularly contributes articles to British, Italian, and Indonesian magazines and newspapers on the themes of conservation [http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/ref_files/1181218738.pdf] and protection of endangered species [ For a list of Nardelli's published articles and essays please refer to: http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=6f306eed39ce4d7ccd51d8b32a6b5c35&act=refs&CODE=s_refs&author=nardelli&year1=1980&year2=2005&title=&boolean=and]

As an aquarium hobbyist, he is an accredited “Master of Layout”, by the Soto School of Zen in Kyoto [http://www.sotozen-net.or.jp/kokusai/sotozenschool.htm] .This title enables him to realize special scenarios , emerged and submerged, following complex Zen principles.

Today, Francesco Nardelli collaborates with Save the Rhino International on projects for the protection of the Indonesian rhinos and promotes several conservation projects in Italy and abroad. His pioneering and successful work with wild mammals, in particular with the Sumatran Rhino, makes of Francesco Nardelli a respected naturalist and a reputable Italian conservationist [http://www.repubblica.it/2004/j/sezioni/esteri/cites/cites/cites.html] .

References

; Natural History; Italian Naturalists