Another White Rhino Has Been Born In New Zealand

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Two White Rhinos Have Been Born In A North Carolina Zoo

By Maja Gjorgjioska

Published Jul 27, 2018

Two southern white rhino calves have been born in a North Carolina zoo. The two calves were born 11 days apart and share the same father, Stormy.

A zoo in North Carolina saw its first baby southern white rhino at the beginning of July after 41 years and just 11 days later, the same zoo announced that another baby white rhino was born. The first white rhino was born on July 2nd, to parents Linda and Stormy, and the zoo decided to get the public involved in the naming, which after starting with seven options, they narrowed the potential names down to two. Eventually, the father Stormy chose the name "Nandi" for the first baby after a very long time.

Just 11 days later, on Friday the 13th no less, the same zoo in North Carolina announced that another southern white rhino was born. Both of the calves are female and have the same dad, Stormy. The second one’s mother is named Kit. There are no naming announcements for the second calf as of yet, but everyone is still eagerly awaiting the news.

The southern white rhino has been hunted nearly to extinction since the beginning of the 20th century. People deemed them extremely valuable for their horns, which some people falsely believed provided immense medical benefits. Unfortunately, this belief hasn’t been completely eradicated quite yet, so the white rhinos around the world are still facing big threats both from habitat loss and from poaching.

According to data from the International Rhino Foundation, around 20,000 white rhinos are currently living in the wild around the world, and they are deemed to be “near threatened”. The northern white rhino, the southern white rhino's close relative, was unfortunately declared effectively extinct this spring. The last male of their kind passed away, which left only the two remaining females alive. The male northern white rhino was named Sudan and was 45-years-old. The rhino had been in a very poor health and was continuously being treated for various infections and some age-related issues until he passed away in March of this year.

Meanwhile, the zoo in North Carolina has had rhinos since 1976. They are also a part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan, where they are trying to keep a sustainable population of this type of southern white rhino in human care. They are also working on a few different international projects that are trying to save the species.