Then, on Thursday, Januat 11:04 am Ashakiran, a 13 year-old female greater one-horned rhinoceros ( rhinoceros unicornis), gave birth to a male calf which also happened to be the first birth of 2018 at the Toronto Zoo! These recent births are very important for rhino conservation as the white rhinoceros is listed as Near Threatened and the greater one-horned rhino as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. While the process still has a long way to go, scientists at the San Diego zoo artificially inseminated a Southern white rhino earlier this month, meaning the long-shot treatment could be possible.TORONTO, ON, Wednesday, February 14, 2018: On Sunday, December 24, 2017, the Toronto Zoo’s seven year-old female white rhinoceros (ceratotherium simum) gave birth to a male rhino calf at 10:45 pm. Only two females remain, and conservationists are desperately trying to develop a million-dollar artificial insemination method to create a new Northern white rhino in a lab. Northern white rhinos famously lost the last living male from the species last March. The greater one-horned rhino isn't the only species of rhino to face dire threats at the hands of poachers or human encroachment. According to the World Wildlife Fund, just over 3,500 exist today, thanks largely to protections from the Indian and Nepalese governments. At the end of the 20th century, fewer than 200 individuals remained in the population, and the species was at the brink of extinction.
“If the issues that are putting them under so much threat in the wild can be tackled and appropriate habitat made safe, then it’s certainly possible that future generations can return ,” adds Rowland.ĭespite their vulnerable status, the return of the greater one-horned rhino is considered a conservation success story. The young male rhino will likely move to another European zoo when it reaches sexual maturity at nine years old. The Chester Zoo participates in the European Endangered Species Program (EEP), a system in which zoos and aquariums transfer at-risk species for breeding purposes. “Whilst it’s unlikely that this particular calf will be reintroduced to the wild, he will hopefully play a key part in the endangered species breeding program,” says Rowland.
( See inside the dark world of the rhino horn trade.) In the wild, the species is found near northwestern India, but habitat loss has also put a strain on the species' ability to thrive. They face threats from poachers who profit from selling their lucrative horns. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature considers the Indian rhino to be vulnerable to extinction. Zookeepers are excited for what they say will be a boost to the species' population numbers. Asha will continue to raise her offspring for another year and a half before the normally solitary female returns to her solo life. Video shows the rhino playfully bounding behind the heels of its mother. They also have thick hides that looks like body armor.Ĭameras were recording when the young rhino took its first wobbly steps.
Also called greater one-horned rhinos, they're characterized by their unicorn-like single horn, earning them the scientific name Rhinoceros unicornis. Once an adult, it will likely weigh more than two tons.
It was born earlier this month to a female named Asha, and even at birth, the young rhino was a hefty 132 pounds. How the rhino's personality develops will factor into what the zoo names the young male. He is very inquisitive and adventurous and ‘bolshie’ seemed an apt description,” says Tim Rowlands, the zoo's curator of mammals. “From very early on he was already showing signs of being a very confident young rhino. The U.K.'s Chester Zoo has a new Indian rhino that keepers say is already developing a personality.
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