White Rhino Born in Belgian Zoo

BRUSSELS (AFP) — A rare southern white rhino was born at a zoo in Belgium, boosting efforts to save the endangered species, the park said on Monday.

“An adorable little male was born in the early morning of Monday… Madiba, the mother, and her baby are doing well,” the Pairi Daiza zoo said in a statement.

Lundi passé (25nov), un bébé rhinocéros blanc du Sud est né à Pairi Daiza ! Cet adorable petit mâle et sa maman se portent bien. Voici les premières images !? pic.twitter.com/6kHj5rubmn — Pairi Daiza (@pairidaiza) December 2, 2019

There are roughly 18,000 southern white rhinos in the wild but the subspecies is being exterminated by poachers at a rate of one every eight hours.

Another species of rhino, the world’s second-largest land mammal, the northern white, is in even more danger with only two left in existence.

The remaining northern white pair are both female, so they will die out unless their genes can be preserved or recovered and an artificial breeding program begins.

In July, a southern white calf was born through artificial insemination in San Diego, in what the zoo hailed as a step toward perfecting the technique.

The Belgian zoo has another female, Elie, in gestation. Her birth is expected “by the end of this year.” Both are natural pregnancies, the zoo said.

Elie has already had a calf, Sethemba, who was born in 2016 and has been transferred to a zoo in the Spanish city of Malaga as part of Europe’s captive breeding program.

© Agence France-Presse