White Rhino Baby Big Bundle of Joy for Singapore Zoo
July 12, 2012
Singapore Zoo recently celebrated the birth of its thirteenth White Rhino -- an adorable and curious youngster. Aptly named Jumaane (which means born on Tuesday), he arrived on Tuesday, April 10, weighing approximately 155 pounds (70kg) at birth -- undoubtedly one of the biggest babies the Zoo has welcomed to date. He can be seen running or rolling around in the mud in his spacious exhibit at the Wild Africa region. Mom Shova is always close by, keeping a watchful eye.
White Rhinos are considered near threatened in the wild on the IUCN’s* Red List of Threatened species. Together with the Indian Rhino, it is the largest species of land mammal after the elephant. They are hunted for their horns, which some believe to have medicinal properties. In fact, the horns are actually made of keratin, the same type of protein that makes up hair and fingernails, and there has been no scientific evidence to suggest that they are a cure for any condition.
Singapore Zoo currently has eight of these majestic creatures in its collection, and boasts the most number of White Rhinos bred in a single zoo in Southeast Asia. Of the 13 babies born there, some have been sent to Indonesia, Australia, Thailand and Korea as part of the Zoo’s ex-situ conservation efforts through its worldwide exchange program.