​Second Eastern Black Rhino Born At Cleveland Zoo

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has just welcomed its second Eastern Black Rhino calf - and just look at it!

The baby rhino arrived on 20 August, joining mum Inge, dad Forrest, another called Kibibbi and seven-month-old calf Lulu.

According to the zoo's website, the newborn is the fifth calf for Inge - who is also mother to Kibbibi and grandmother to Lulu. Yep, quite the family tree, this.

It is also the seventh Eastern Black Rhino to be born at the zoo.

"We're very excited to welcome our second Eastern black rhino calf born here at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo this year," said Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Executive Director Christopher Kuhar, PhD.

"We hope these significant births inspire guests to learn more about this critically endangered species and how they can help protect Eastern black rhinos in the wild."

The video footage of the new baby rhino was posted to the zoo's Instagram and Facebook pages yesterday, along with several photos.

One person commented: "Awww welcome to the world little buddy!!!!"

Someone else was happy to hear that Lulu now has a playmate, writing; "I'm in love! Lulu has a friend!"

Another tagged a mate, writing: "OMG! WE HAVE TO GO SEE THE BABY!

There's even a rhino camera you can tune into online to see how the new calf and its family are doing - though mum and baby won't be out in the yard for another few weeks yet, as they need to wait until the calf is strong enough. Keeping the calf away from the public for a period of time will also help stimulate the bond between mother and calf, but it won't be long before you can check them out in their enclosure.

In the meantime, the zoo has said that they're both doing well, and that they have been under 'constant watch' by the zoo's animal care team.

The birth is an important one for the Eastern Black Rhino species, as there are now only 750 left in the wild due to poaching and habitat loss.

The worryingly rapid loss of species that we are currently experiencing is estimated by experts to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate - which suggests that human activity has a major part to play.

Overfishing, deforestation, poaching and pollution are just some of the ways our modern lives are impacting the animal kingdom and the repercussions are becoming more and more widespread.

Read more about LADbible's new campaign, Extinct, our mission to save our endangered species.

Topics: Extinct, News, US News, Animals

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman