Queenie is the newest addition to the Rhino family at Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens. She is the first White Rhino born in a UK zoological collection in 2022. 

This year marks Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee year. To celebrate this unprecedented anniversary, an apt name was chosen for the new calf. Managing Director of Cotswold Wildlife Park, Reggie Heyworth, explains: "We feel very lucky to have another baby female Rhino, which is our fifth female baby in a row. All the Rhinos here are named after very special people and I think everyone agrees that 2022 will always be special because of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. I thought it might be a bit presumptuous to call our new baby ‘Elizabeth’, so I have christened her ‘Queenie’ instead. I think it is a perfect name for a young lady Rhino!"

Photo credits: Rory Carnegie

Queenie isn't the only royal-related birth at the Park. Louis, our new male Bactrian Camel, has just become a first-time father. He was named after Prince Louis of Cambridge as they were both born on the same day. His as-yet-unnamed calves are the first Camels to be born at the Park since 2018. The wild Bactrian Camel (Camelus ferus) is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN and is thought to be one of the rarest large mammals on earth.

MORE PICS BELOW THE FOLD!

Mother’s Day came early for Southern white rhinoceros Tuli, after zookeepers at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo prepared a heart-shaped, breakfast banquet for her and her calf, Nandi. 
 
The rhino mum and her seven-month-old calf were treated to a feast of their favourite hay and pellets, arranged in the shape of a heart, for Mother’s Day. 

LOTS MORE PHOTOS BELOW THE FOLD!

SOUND ON! If this isn't the most adorable video then we don't know what is. Watch Hari the Greater One-horned Rhino calf blow bubbles in the mud wallow!

Hari has been developing well behind the scenes since his birth on 17 October and has grown in size as well as confidence. Mother Amala is still very protective of her calf and the pair have developed a strong bond.

Video : Keeper Kat Pollock

In Arnhem, The Netherlands, one of the Royal Burgers’ Zoo’s animal caretakers has compiled outstanding video of the very first time their newborn rhino went outside with its mother. Bordering the warm stable lies an extensive outdoor stay behind the scenes. The young calf explores and investigates with great curiosity. Mother takes an easy mud bath, as the young rhino carefully explores its new world.

On Saturday, October 16, at 3:29 a.m., Buffalo Zoo’s greater one-horned rhino Tashi gave birth to a beautiful baby girl! This is Tashi's fifth calf but the first with Buffalo’s previous male George. That rhino dad now resides at another AZA accredited facility.

Animal care and veterinary teams got their first look at the calf early Saturday morning, where she received her first physical exam. This included weight, checking her vitals, cleaning her belly button (umbilical cord attachment site), and bloodwork. She came in at a whopping 130 lbs! Over the last few weeks, the team has closely monitored Tashi and the calf. So far, mom and calf are doing great.

Arnhem Rhino Breeding Program Proves Highly Successful

On Tuesday, 26 October 2021, at 3:00, a healthy-looking square-lipped rhinoceros was born at Royal Burgers' Zoo

Royal Burgers' Zoo remains one of Europe's most successful breeders of square-lipped rhinoceros. The latest addition to the Arnhem crash was born in the heated enclosure on Tuesday, 26 October at 3:00. The experienced mother has birthed a total of eight calves, her latest being the fourteenth rhinoceros to be born in Arnhem since 1977. A total of 295 square-lipped rhinoceros live in 75 European zoos—127 bulls and 168 cows.

The most plentiful but endangered

Of the five rhinoceros species in the world, the square-lipped rhinoceros is the most plentiful in the wild. However, every year, dozens to hundreds of animals fall prey to poachers, who are particularly interested in the valuable horn. The population of square-lipped rhinoceros in all European zoos is currently 295 animals. With fourteen rhinoceros births since 1977, Royal Burgers' Zoo is one of the main purveyors to the population management in European zoos. 

European population management programme

Safaripark Beekse Bergen in the Netherlands coordinates the European population management programme for square-lipped rhinoceros. The best matches between animals are made using DNA research to maximize the genetic variation within the population. Under this programme, animals are moved to and from zoos with square-lipped rhinoceros throughout Europe. 

Livestream of the birth

The birth of the rhino calf could be followed live thanks to a livestream from the rhinoceros enclosure: https://tinyurl.com/ys6v9njx. The mother is highly experienced and has successfully raised seven calves, which helped the birth go smoothly. Mother and calf will stay in the cosy, heated enclosure for the first few weeks, regularly going outside for fresh air in the adjacent, off-exhibit enclosure. Visitors can watch 24/7 live footage of the mother and calf in the rhinoceros enclosure. 

Molly is the newest addition to the Rhino family at Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens. She is the eighth Rhino calf to be born at the Burford collection and is Monty and Ruby’s fourth breeding success together. Births in captivity are considered rare, with only nineteen White Rhinos being born in European zoos in the last twelve months. Her birth is testament to the dedication of the mammal keepers and the Park’s commitment to the European Breeding Programme (EEP). 

White Rhinos (Ceratotherium simum ssp. simum) have always been an important species at the Park and considerable thought is given to naming these iconic animals. Previous calves have been named after the founder of Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens, Mr. John Heyworth, and highly respected South African conservationist, Ian Player, who spearheaded efforts to rescue the Southern White Rhino from extinction. This time the honour was given to Head Keeper Mark Godwin (pictured right with his children Henry and Molly).

Mark has worked at the Park for 31 years and has looked after the ever-growing 'crash' of Rhinos for the last 13 years. This is the first Rhino calf he has named. He decided to call her Molly after his four-year-old daughter (pictured left meeting her namesake). Molly described having a Rhino named after her as “amazing!”. Mark's family live on-site at Cotswold Wildlife Park and Molly, along with her five-year-old brother Henry, has grown up at the wildlife park and the siblings regularly visit their favourites - the Rhinos. During lockdown when the Park was temporarily closed to the public, they even lent their dad a helping hand by mucking out the Rhinos and Camels. Spending their childhood at the Park has sparked a passion for wildlife and both would like to follow in their father’s footsteps and work with animals when they’re older.

Cotswold Wildlife Park is committed to Rhino conservation and works closely with the UK-based conservation charity Tusk Trust to protect Africa’s many threatened species. In October 2021, Reggie Heyworth, the Park’s Managing Director and a Tusk Trust Ambassador, ran the London Marathon in aid of Tusk Trust and raised over £12,000 for the charity. Reggie Heyworth (pictured right), explains: “Conservation programmes throughout Africa’s wildlife areas and national parks often depend on income from tourism and support from charities such as Tusk Trust. With so few tourists visiting Africa, it is all the more important for us to support the work of Tusk Trust, who fund over forty programmes throughout sub-Saharan Africa, including vital work to protect rhinos and elephants from poachers”. For more information about Tusk Trust, please visit www.tusk.org.

West Palm Beach, FL – In a very special celebration on World Rhino Day, Lion Country Safari welcomed a female Southern White Rhinoceros calf to its herd on Sept. 22, 2021. 

This big baby is also a very big deal in the conservation world. She is a significant new part of the White Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan, a national collaboration to save this imperiled species from extinction. In celebration of the birth and in honor of World Rhino Day, Lion Country Safari is making a donation to the International Rhino Foundation.  

Both the calf and mom are spending quality time bonding in a maternity area, which is visible to guests from their cars in the drive-through safari. Lion Country Safari is one of only a few drive-through safari experiences in the United States.  

The baby, named Aziza (meaning precious), is the second offspring born to 8-year-old mom Anna. She is the 37th rhino calf born at the park since 1979. During the 1970s, this species was teetering on the edge of extinction with less than 1,000 individuals left on the planet. Today, thanks to multi-national collaborative breeding and protection efforts, there are an estimated 20,000 white rhinos and each new birth contributes to their continued conservation.    

Lion Country Safari’s veterinary team monitored Anna’s health with regular ultrasound exams and blood tests to ensure that mom and calf were progressing well throughout the 16-month pregnancy. 

Rhino mothers give birth to a single calf weighing between 88 and 132 pounds (40-60 kg). Aziza is expected to gain 3-4 pounds (1-2kg) a day from her mother's milk, and will gain about 1,000 pounds (450 kg) a year for the first three years. Baby rhinos nurse for almost two years. 

Of the five species of rhinos (White, Black, Indian, Sumatran and Javan), the white rhino is the most abundant, but all 5 species are in peril due mostly to poaching. The Southern White Rhinoceros is the only species of rhino that eats just grasses; the others also browse on trees and shrubs.  

Lion Country Safari is home to 14 White Rhinos – 11 females and 3 males and is a proud participant of the White Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan (SSP), a program of the Associations of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The SSP ensures that a genetically sound population of White Rhinos survives should threats worsen in the wild.  

For more information on rhinos, visit the International Rhino Foundation: www.rhinos.org and Save the Rhinos www.savetherhino.org. 

West Midland Safari Park is celebrating the birth of its fourth southern white rhino in five years. 

Third-time-mum, Ailsa, gave birth to the male rhino calf during the early hours of Monday 24th May, following a pregnancy of 16 months.  

Under the watchful eye of eleven-year-old mum, the little one was given a brief health check by his Keepers who were able to confirm he already weighed in at 74 kilograms (11 and a half stone) and was doing very well. 

The baby boy is another triumph for the Park in championing their breeding programme for white rhino. Two-and-a-half-year-old male, Granville, who was born in 2018, was the last white rhino born at the Park, and now has a new baby brother to join him out on the reserves.  

Head of Wildlife, Angela Potter, said, “We are absolutely delighted to welcome a new white rhino calf. He is a very strong boy and has been growing in confidence settling in well since his birth last week. This is Ailsa’s third time as a mother, and as expected she’s been wonderful – we are very proud of her.    

“With each rhino birth we have here at the Park, it’s a fantastic achievement for the European Endangered Species programme. All five species of rhino are decreasing in numbers, and we hope that this birth can continue in helping to bring more attention to the plight of rhino species in the wild.” 

White rhinos are the larger of the two African rhino species, they are fairly social animals and live in loose groups in the wild of up to six animals. Their skin is grey in colour and not white, in fact it is no different in colour from black rhinos despite the names! 

With wild rhinos continually facing a threat of poaching and habitat loss, the Park are committed to continuing their breeding programme, which works to create a reserve population of these magnificent animals who are listed as near threatened on the IUC red list. At the last count, just over 20,000 wild southern white rhinos remained in South Africa. 

Although the new-born is yet to be named, the Park is asking the public to make the final decision from a shortlist of names supplied by their keepers, which will take place next week. The name will begin with ‘J’, as all names of babies born at the Park in 2021 will begin with this letter. 

The youngster has already made his first tentative steps into his paddock and will eventually join his brother, Granville, on the Safari Drive-through within the next week.  

The new birth now brings the ‘crash’ of southern white rhino at the Safari up to seven. This includes the new arrival’s father, fifteen-year-old Barney, who himself was born at the Park in 2005.