The new resident of Australia’s Taronga Western Plains Zoo (a non-profit organization that supports wildlife conservation) is a newborn black rhino that has yet to be named. His parents are Bakhita and Kwanzaa. The little rhino was born on Halloween night, October 31, and is the second of its kind born in 2017. The previous one was a female who was born in April named Mesi (and daughter of Kufara).
Unfortunately, the black rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis ) is critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The funny thing is that it was once the most numerous rhinoceros species in the world (with numbers of 850,000 specimens) but today, estimates indicate that the number is less than 5,500 animals. In areas like Mozambique, the black rhino has completely disappeared.
The main reason for this worrying decline is habitat loss due to highly aggressive farming and poaching of the horns of these animals , the illegal sale of which can reach a staggering more than 50,000 euros per kilogram on the black market. .
In 1995 the number of hook-lipped or black rhinos reached its lowest level in 1995, when only 2,410 individuals survived.
To aid the conservation of the black rhinoceros, zoos around the world began to develop breeding programs, hence the number has timidly risen, but there is still a long way to go.
The Taronga Western Plains Zoo specifically acquired six black rhinos for their breeding program in 1994 and, since then, 14 black rhinos have been born. Bakhita, the boy’s mother, was also born at the Australian zoo in 2002. Taking into account both rhinos born in 2017, the zoo is already home to three different generations of rhinos.
According to the zoo, the new ‘baby’ is settling in well. He has met his human breeders in a yard where the little one can pass but not the mother (it is a small opening in the enclosure) and where he can walk freely.
The calf, which is very active and curious about its environment, will not eat solid food until it is three months old and will not be shown to the public until 2018 to promote the bond between calf and mother.
Image credit: Rick Stevens / Taronga Western Plains Zoo
Reference: Taronga Western Plains Zoo
