PREVIEW

Zookeepers at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire have celebrated the birth of a southern white rhino calf.

The zoo is now home to a one-week-old male rhino calf, described by staff as “a giant bundle of joy.”

The baby rhino entered the world on 7 March 2024, after a four-minute labour.

Rhino keeper Mark Holden said: “This is Jaseera’s first baby, and it's been great to see her maternal instinct kick in. Jaseera has been nursing the calf and has been very protective of him. All the signs of a perfect rhino mum.

“Southern white rhinos are born with over-sized, rubbery feet, which they ‘grow into’, so the calf was understandably quite wobbly when he first started to walk. But he’s a fast learner and a week later he is now zooming around, exploring his cosy indoor den,” he added.

Mother Jaseera carried the 45kg calf for 16 months at the UK’s largest zoo.

Holden added that the new calf was extremely precious: “Sadly, these magnificent creatures are still being hunted in the wild. The poached horns are primarily used for traditional medicine in Asia, due to mistaken beliefs that the horns have healing powers. Last year in South Africa alone around 500 white rhinos were killed for their horn, that’s more than one a day.”

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are 10,000 mature southern white rhinos left in the wild, with numbers continuing to fall.

The new calf was born as part of a broader effort within the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP), which aims to boost populations of species threatened in the wild.

The calf’s father, Sizzle, has been a vital member of the EEP. Holden said: “Sizzle has had 15 calves at Whipsnade Zoo, and those calves have gone on to produce 37 grandchildren around Europe and he’s also got 13 great-grandchildren. He’s an incredible bull.”

The calf will spend the next two weeks inside while he bonds with his mother and then will be introduced to the ‘crash’ (a pack of rhinos) later this month.