In the wee hours of November 3rd, a bouncing bundle of joy was delivered at Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands. Indian Rhino Mom "Namaste" gave birth to a happy, healthy female calf. The yet-to-be named baby Rhino was walking and drinking milk within 30 minutes of her birth. Namaste is an experienced mom and has given birth to 5 babies so far. Indian Rhinoceroses are threatened by illegal poaching. Today they can only be found in some nature reserves in Northern India and Nepal.
Photo credit: Shirley Kroos (1-3) Rob Doorland (4)
On October 23, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomed a baby White Rhinoceros. The female Rhino, who has yet to be named, was born at the 26-acre White Rhino habitat on Busch Gardens’ Serengeti Plain. This is the second calf born to mother Kisiri
and the seventh for father Tambo. She weighed an
estimated 140 pounds at the time of the birth, and will gain approximately four pounds each day until she reaches an adult
weight of approximately 3,500 to 4,000 pounds.
Fewer than 15,000 white rhinos remain in the wild, and approximately 200 live in zoological facilities across North America. Busch Gardens participates in the Association of
Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) to ensure genetic
diversification among threatened and endangered animals in zoological
facilities. Busch Gardens has celebrated a total of seven White Rhino births since October 2004, and this birth brings the total white and black rhino population there to eight.
Kisiri, Tambo and another female white rhino were airlifted from
Kruger National Park in South Africa in 2001 through the efforts of the
International Rhino Foundation (IRF), a non-profit organization dedicated to
the protection of rhinos.
Chester Zoo has welcomed a very important baby - a Black Rhino calf. She may not have a name yet but she does have an important role to play as the two-week-old is another step towards sustaining a Black Rhino population which, in the wild, has been ravaged by poachers.
Keeper Helen Massey said, "She's a very attentive mum. She is doing everything right and both her and her calf seem very, very happy.” The birth brings the number of critically-endangered Black Rhinos housed by the zoo to eight. Mrs Massey added, "Black rhino face a very real threat of extinction and so every birth is vital to ensure their survival.
The first Greater One-horned Rhinoceros born in Texas now has a name: Asha. More than 3,300 Fort Worth Zoo Facebook fans chose from the five names selected by Zoo staff that reflected the baby Rhino’s personality and heritage. Asha, Nepalese for “hope,” was the front-runner from the start, receiving more than half of the total votes.
Carrie Shiflet Ferguson was chosen as the grand prize winner of the naming contest. She was chosen randomly among the Facebook fans who voted for the winning name, and will receive a greater one-horned rhino adoption package and a family four-pack of admission tickets to the Fort Worth Zoo.
Photo credit: Fort Worth Zoo
Asha, born August 16, 2012, has joined mother Shanti and sire Arun in the Fort Worth Zoo’sAsian Falls exhibit. The Greater One-horned Rhino is one of 43 endangered species at the Fort Worth Zoo. The Zoo’s greater One-horned Rhinos are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Plan, a program created to manage a sustainable population of endangered species in AZA zoos. The International Rhino Foundation lists the greater one-horned rhino as endangered.
Keepers at The Netherlands' Burgers' Zoo were surprised by the early birth of a baby White Rhino on Saturday. 12-year-old female, Kwanzaa, and her new calf Vince are stable and healthy, according to zoo officials. Of the five rhino species in existence, White Rhinoceros are the most social. They are listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is celebrating some big news! For the first time in over 45 years there, a baby Black Rhinoceros was born to mom Azizi. The female calf weighs about 70 pounds and appears to be doing very well.“We are so excited to welcome a big, beautiful, bouncing, female rhino,” says Dr. Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. “The birth of a Black Rhino is significant because they are critically endangered and Azizi’s calf will introduce new blood lines into the zoo population.”
There are 4,800 Black Rhinoceroses left in the wild. Between 1970 and 1992, the Black Rhino population decreased by 96% — the most dramatic of all Rhino species. Black Rhino populations are recovering slowly despite intensive efforts to end poaching, the biggest threat to animals worldwide.
Mom and baby will not be on exhibit for the public until after they have had the appropriate amount of time to bond, and until the weather and temperature conditions are ideal for this African native. Visitors are asked to check the Zoo’s website and social media sites for details of when baby will be viewable.
Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium
Keepers noticed Azizi was acting differently last week. She started pacing and appeared uncomfortable. “At one point she put her feet on her water trough and was stretching,” says Dr. Baker.
“Labor lasted roughly 50 minutes with no complications,” says Dr. Ginger Takle, director of animal health. “We wanted to be close in case Azizi should need us, but she did very well for a first time mom. Keepers and zoo veterinary staff monitored the birth nearby, but out of sight to allow for a natural delivery. The baby was nursing within two hours of her birth. Nursing is an important first step in bonding with mom. Calves gain about 30 pounds each week from the nutrients in the mother’s milk.
Dr. Takle added, “It is important for the calf to continue to nurse and gain weight especially during the first three months which are critical. As she continues to grow, we will begin to introduce solid food at about one month of age, starting with alfalfa and sweet potatoes.”
This past Monday, Zoo Basel welcomed the arrival of a baby Indian Rhino. The birth was so quick, keepers named the baby Jarj (Nepalese for "instantly"). The calf was strong and vivacious from the start and immediately stood up to begin drinking his mother's milk.
This endangered species is threatened in the wild by poaching, and Zoo Basel coordinates the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) for Indian Rhinos. Jarj is the third calf for mother Quetta and the 33rd Indian Rhino to be born at Zoo Basel.
A Eastern Black Rhinoceros calf was born on July 1 at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and it's a boy! The calf weighed about 80 pounds (36 kg) at birth and is growing fast. In just four weeks he now tips the scales at about 150 pounds (68 kg). When fully grown he will weigh about 3,000 pounds or 1360 kg! Animal keepers will give mother and baby time to bond and hope they can be put on exhibit shortly in the Zoo’s African Savanna.
The Zoo hopes the public will help name the calf by visiting clemetzoo.com and voting through August 9 for their favorite potential rhino name. Tthe winning name will be revealed on August 10.
The Eastern Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis michaeli) is classified as “Critically Endangered” in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the primary organization for quantifying conservation assessment efforts. The IUCN estimates there are less than 1,000 of this rhino subspecies left in the wild, concentrated primarily in Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has been very successful in breeding Eastern Black Rhinos as part of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Species Survival Program; this is the fifth successful rhino birth at the Zoo since 2000.
Singapore Zoo recently celebrated the birth of its thirteenth White Rhino -- an adorable and curious youngster. Aptly named Jumaane (which means born on Tuesday), he arrived on Tuesday, April 10, weighing approximately 155 pounds (70kg) at birth -- undoubtedly one of the biggest babies the Zoo has welcomed to date. He can be seen running or rolling around in the mud in his spacious exhibit at the Wild Africa region. Mom Shova is always close by, keeping a watchful eye.
White Rhinos are considered near threatened in the wild on the IUCN’s* Red List of Threatened species. Together with the Indian Rhino, it is the largest species of land mammal after the elephant. They are hunted for their horns, which some believe to have medicinal properties. In fact, the horns are actually made of keratin, the same type of protein that makes up hair and fingernails, and there has been no scientific evidence to suggest that they are a cure for any condition.
Singapore Zoo currently has eight of these majestic creatures in its collection, and boasts the most number of White Rhinos bred in a single zoo in Southeast Asia. Of the 13 babies born there, some have been sent to Indonesia, Australia, Thailand and Korea as part of the Zoo’s ex-situ conservation efforts through its worldwide exchange program.
The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden are pleased to announce the birth of a bouncing baby boySumatranrhino! The calf was born to mother, “Ratu”, a 12-year-old Sumatran rhino living at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia’s Way Kambas National Park and father, “Andalas,” born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2001 and the first Sumatran Rhino calf born in captivity in 112 years. In 2007 he was sent to the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary with hopes that he would eventually sire calves with one or more of the females at the Sanctuary.
The baby was born on June 23 and weighs 60-70 pounds. He was attended by Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary veterinarians, Ratu’s keepers and advisors from the Cincinnati Zoo and Taronga Conservation Society Australia. Ratu gave birth after two hours of second-stage labor and several days of restlessness. The calf stood about an hour after birth and began nursing almost immediately. Ratu is a very good mother and the baby is healthy and active.
“To say that we are thrilled is an understatement,” said Dr. Terri Roth, Vice President of Conservation and Science and Director of the Cincinnati Zoo’s Lindner Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW). “When we celebrated the monumental birth of Andalas at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2001, we never imagined he would play such a pivotal role in the survival of his species. This international collaboration is conservation work at its finest.” Dr. Roth has been working in SE Asia for over a decade.
There are currently fewer than 200 Sumatran rhinos living in Indonesia and Malaysia. This is the first birth of a Sumatran rhino in an Indonesian facility and the first birth in an Asian facility in 124 years.
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