A RHINO RARITY
East African black rhinoceros gives birth at Pittsburgh zoo
One of Pittsburgh’s newest babies is adorably plump and sleepy-eyed.
Azizi, an endangered East African black rhinoceros, gave birth to a calf on Wednesday at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, the second born at the zoo since 2014, zoo officials announced Friday.
“She was showing signs that she was getting close to delivering her calf,” said Kathy Suthard, lead carnivore keeper, in a statement. “Through the use of cameras installed in Azizi’s room we were able to watch her without interfering.”
The female calf and mother are doing well, the zoo said. The staff has not yet named the zoo’s newest resident.
Ginger Sturgeon, the zoo’s director of animal health, said the staff will continue to monitor the calf to make certain she continues to nurse and shows no postnatal complications. Rhino calves can gain up to 30 pounds per week from nutrients in the mother’s milk. In about a month, Dr. Sturgeon said, keepers will begin to feed her solid foods starting with alfalfa and sweet potatoes.
Although rhinoceros horn is made of the same material as fingernails, it is considered an aphrodisiac in Chinese folklore. Illegal trade and legal habitat depletion continue to affect most species.
The Pittsburgh Zoo’s new baby is among fewer than 300 East African black rhinos living in captivity. The International Union for Conservation of Nature reports that about 450 live in the wild in southern and eastern Africa.
A related subspecies, the West African black rhino, was declared extinct in 2006. The North African white rhino is at the edge of extinction and Asia’s Javan rhino is holding on in some locations. One subspecies, the South African white rhino, has grown in population from fewer than 100 near the end of the 1800s to an estimated 20,000 today.
At Pittsburgh Zoo, mom and calf are quietly bonding indoors. They won’t be available for public exhibit at least until the weather breaks.