The Saint Louis Zoo has announced that a black rhinoceros calf was born to first-time parents, mother Kati Rain and father Ajabu in St. Louis on January 14, 2011. Weighing 120-1/2 pounds, the little male is nursing well and being cared for by his mother, according to Zoo staff. This is the first black rhino calf to be born at the Saint Louis Zoo in 20 years. In all, eight black rhino calves have been born at the Zoo. The black rhino has experienced the most drastic decline of any rhino species. In 1970, it was thought there were about 65,000 black rhinos in Africa. By 1993, there were only 2,300 survivors in the wild. Black rhinos are heavily poached, because it is thought in many Asian countries that the rhino horn has medicinal uses. UPI/Saint Louis Zoo | License Photo
Officials said the infant rhino weighs 120 1/2 pounds and is being well-cared for by his mother. They said the calf was the first born to the 6-year-old parents, who came to the zoo in 2007.
Black rhinos as classified as critically endangered, with only 2,300 counted in the wild in 1993, down from about 65,000 in 1970. Zoo officials said the calf was the first black rhino born at the zoo in about 20 years.
