Staff at Knowsley Safari Park are celebrating the birth of a baby white rhino _390
STAFF at Knowsley Safari Park turned up for work yesterday to find they had a new addition – a baby white rhino.
The as-yet-unnamed male is the first rhino calf to be born there for two years. The baby and his 14-year-old mum, Meru, are doing well and as he was born outside the pair are already on view to visitors in the paddock.
The nine-stone arrival increases the park’s rhino family to eight, one of whom is 28-year-old Bud, the proud father of the new calf.
The birth follows a mammoth gestation period which lasts the best part of 17 months.
Knowsley Safari Park general manager David Ross said: “What was remarkable about this birth is that it happened outside at night rather than in the rhino house, which has always been the case on previous occasions. We got up this morning to find the new calf running round happily watched by his proud mother.
“As it’s summer, it’s warm enough for the pair to stay outside so they can already be seen on our safari drive, and we’re sure that the new calf is quickly going to become a favourite with our visitors.”
Another baby could be arriving, as it is believed another rhino, Winnie, is pregnant.
The white rhino, larger than the black rhino, is the second largest land mammal after the elephant.
