Adorable baby white rhino born at zoo
An adorable baby white rhino has been pictured for the first time since he was born at a zoo.
The male calf, who has not yet been named, was born on October 2 at Whipsnade Zoo in Beds to parents Fahari and Sizzle.
He weighs less than 50kg making him smaller than other calves born at the zoo but his keeper said he has a "very healthy appetite".
The male calf, who has not yet been named, was born on October 2 at Whipsnade Zoo in Beds to parents Fahari and Sizzle.
He weighs less than 50kg making him smaller than other calves born at the zoo but his keeper said he has a "very healthy appetite".
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00We are very excited here at Whipsnade because we have just had a baby southern white rhino.
00:08Seven-year-old Fahari has given birth to a very small, very petite little baby boy.
00:14It was a smooth birth. We were able to watch, albeit remotely, on CCTV.
00:19Just wanted to keep our distance and make sure that everything was nice and quiet and calm.
00:23But we were nearby. We did need to help out in any way, but Fahari was great. She was a superstar.
00:28So she delivered the baby swiftly and everything went as planned.
00:32Mum and baby are getting on great. Obviously, again, being a first-time mum,
00:36Fahari's had a lot to learn, but she's doing really well. Baby's doing really well as well.
00:41He takes a lot of milk. It's a lot of growing to be done at that age. That takes a lot of energy.
00:46So as a team, they finally cracked it and they're getting on great.
00:49Dad, Nsizwa, who we call Sizzle for short. Sizzle has been quite prolific over the years.
00:55This is calf 16. So Sizzle has done a really good job here at Whipsnade.
00:59The Southern White Rhino here at Whipsnade and across Europe
01:02are part of a conservation breeding program.
01:05In the wild, the Southern White Rhino are near-threatened.
01:08Threats like poaching and habitat loss have really kind of encroached
01:11on the numbers of these guys out in the wild.
01:14So that's why it's really important that we breed a really viable
01:16and genetically diverse backup population in zoos across Europe.
01:21So our new arrival, along with seven-month-old Benja,
01:25and even three-year-old Nandi have proven to be,
01:28they're going to be valuable members of that breeding program.
01:30Visitors can expect to see the new baby boy quite soon.
01:33We're monitoring him and mum closely. He will be inside the house while he finds his feet.
01:38Hopefully he'll be outside in the paddock with the rest of the group by October half-term,
01:42but that's very weather dependent because he's a very small rhino.