We have gorgeous news to share with all of you during these March Updates: the post will be shorter, but really full of info!
Baby Rhinos Births
Taronga Western Plains Zoo, in Australia, has announced the birth of a healthy female calf on Wednesday February 24, 2021. Black Rhino mum Bakhita, confirmed pregnant back in 2020, gave birth to her fourth calf during the night, without any problems. Her daughter is the last offspring for male Kwanzaa, one of the breeding males at Taronga, that unfortunately passed away early last year. Taronga Western Plains Zoo is the only facility in Australia that is currently breeding Black Rhinos succesfully. Bakhita’s subspecies, Diceros bicornis minor, has very few specimen in the zoos of the world and they are only breeding quite well in North America. There are high expectations for the Survival Program of that subspecies of Black Rhinos which could lead to more exchanges between the continents. Research is being conducted on them and it claims that there are only 39 breeding females, but as you can see, less than 5 are known (to us) to be breeding quite regularly.
We are over the moon also for another Black Rhino birth, which has been said to have been a surprise to the keepers, too! At Sedgwick County Zoo, in Kansas, the only Eastern Black Rhino resident, Bibi (who was born in Japan), gave birth on March 1, 2021 to a healthy male calf. This is indeed marvellous news that fills us with joy. The baby is the only offspring for male Klyde, that died suddenly in September 2020! Bibi and Klyde have lived together since mid 2013, but zoo officials said they recorded only two breeding attempts between the pair, the last one in October 2019. Bibi, who had given birth twice before (even if the last one was nearly 14 years ago) and could be considered as a proven breeder, showed no sign of a pregnancy after that, she seemed to show a cycle sign, instead. So, it was with great sadness that we had thought that Klyde, whose genetical value was high, was never able to conceive. Instead, he left behind a marvelous surprise in the shape of a healthy baby boy! Mum Bibi was only lab tested early in 2021 and only two weeks ago showed sign of an impending birth. The zoo probably, hadn’t the chance to ultrasound her during the past months, probably because they had no idea she had been expecting.
Both calves mentioned have not received a name, yet, but we know that some of our “Unnamed” baby rhinos listed in our dedicated chart have, so you can check them!
Last, but not least, we know that the Indian Rhino pair Asha and Giirja welcomed a baby in February 2021, but we have no information about this birth.
Transfers
It seems that some transfers left behind are going to be completed in the next months.
Southern White Rhino Stormy has surprisingly (for us!) waved goodbye to the big herd in North Carolina Zoo, where he sired four female calves recently, and landed safely at San Antonio Zoo, where on Tuesday, February 23, 2021, he made his debut. He probably arrived some weeks prior and had some time to get used to his new surroundings. He is supposed to become the breeding male in the new crash of rhinos composed by young females Ophelia and Nyota (affectionately known as “Reina” and “West”, but we do not know who is who)!
There are more transfers scheduled and planned for March, some from Europe and some from Japan, where our Team is ready to share some gorgoeus news once the transfers are completed.
For any corrections, feel free to contact us though our Facebook page or mail: we’ll answer as soon as we can!
