Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City is announcing the birth of a black rhinoceros, which is a critically endangered species.
The baby boy’s mother is Johari. She gave birth at approximately 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The zoo reports that both mother and baby are doing well.
Johari is a first-time mother and this is the first black rhinoceros born at the zoo.
The zoo says the baby made his first attempts to stand shortly after birth and first nursed four hours after entering the world.
Johari and her baby will not be on can exhibit yet. The zoo says they need bonding time first.
The father is Jabari who was outside at the time of delivery. Male rhinos do not participate in raising the young.
The zoo plans to share video updates on its website and on its Facebook page.
Johari, who is 10, and Jabari, who is 7, arrived at Lee Richardson Zoo in 2016 from the zoos in Cleveland and Atlanta. It was on the recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Eastern Black Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan (SSP).
The Eastern black rhino is the rarest of the three remaining black rhino subspecies with approximately 740 left in 2018.
