Conservationists at the world-renowned Chester Zoo are currently celebrating the attraction’s latest arrival.
Following a 16-month pregnancy, a rare and endangered species of rhinoceros has been born. A greater one-horned rhino, the new calf was delivered by Asha, his mother, with the birth captured discreetly on hidden cameras at the zoo.
On the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) threatened species, the greater one-horned rhino numbers have been greatly depleted over the years. It could once be found in the wild across the whole of the Indian subcontinent’s northern hemisphere but today is only seen in a small area across Nepal and India. Illegal poaching and encroaching human civilisation destroying their natural habitat has resulted in there being fewer than 3,000 of the creatures left in the wild.
Rhino Team Manager for Chester Zoo, Sam Harley, commented:
“We’re absolutely thrilled with Asha and her new arrival. It’s been four years since a greater one-horned rhino calf was born here at Chester Zoo and they really are an incredible sight.”
Harley commented that it had been a privilege to witness the birth and that the sheer size of the creatures made for an incredible event. The rhino calf weighed 50 kilogrammes when it entered the world but will grow to about 1.7 tonnes as an adult.
Keepers at the zoo have selected three possible names for the new arrival and have invited the UK public to vote on which one is their favourite.
