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Chester Zoo celebrates birth of critically endangered eastern black rhino
Amazing!
Chester Zoo celebrates the birth of an endangered eastern black rhino as the ‘unusual’ moment is captured on camera.
Conservationists at the zoo have shared their joy after capturing the amazing moment one of the ‘world’s rarest mammals’ safely arrives into the world.
The female calf was safely delivered on November 12th by new mum Zuri, following a 15-month-long pregnancy.
Experts say the daylight birth is ‘quite unusual’ as rhinos normally give birth at night, with the moment offering keepers the unique opportunity to capture it on camera.
Heartwarming images released of the new baby during its first few days of life show her sticking close by her mum’s side.
Conservationists say the birth of a healthy calf will help global efforts to prevent the species from disappearing altogether.
The eastern black rhino is listed as critically endangered by the world’s authority on the state of nature with fewer than 600 now found across Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. This means it faces a very high chance of becoming extinct in the wild.
Chester Zoo’s Rhino Team Manager, Emma Evison, who has been closely monitoring mum and calf, said: “We’d been eagerly awaiting this birth for 15 long months and, as it’s quite unusual for a rhino to give birth in daylight hours, we really didn’t expect it to happen right in front of us as we were going about our day.
“To be able to witness the calf safely entering the world, in front of our very own eyes, was just the most incredible privilege.
“What’s most important now during these first few days is that mum Zuri and her new baby spend some time bonding and getting to know one another.
“So far, the pair have been inseparable and the little one is feeding regularly and already gaining in size and weight. She’s very inquisitive and full of energy, which is just brilliant to see.”
Speaking of the impact the illegal wildlife trade on this species and conservationists efforts to preserve the eastern black rhino population, she added: “Sadly this is a species that, for more than century, has been hunted down and poached for its horn before being sold on the illegal wildlife markets.
“This precious newborn’s arrival is another positive step in safeguarding the species, which is what the endangered species breeding programme in European conservation zoos that we’re a leading part of is striving to do.
“This programme has already showed huge success, with a group of rhinos bred in zoo’s in Europe having been translocated to a protected National Park in Africa.”
The illegal wildlife trade is the main driver in thousands of species disappearing from the wild, including the eastern black rhino.
The demand for rhino horn, stemming from the traditional Asian medicine market, has seen 95% Africa’s rhinos wiped out by poaching.
However, new figures released this year show that, for the first time in more than a decade, rhino numbers have increased slightly across Africa due to successful conservation efforts.
Mike Jordan, Director of Animals and Plants at the zoo, added mum Zuri and her new arrival are ‘testament to the unwavering dedication of conservationists here at Chester, and around the world’.