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Baby rhino born in KZN
28/07/2005 14:27 - (SA)
Johannesburg - A black rhino calf "about the size of a warthog with ears too big for his body" has excited conservationists at the Phinda game reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The calf was the first to be born after a group of black rhino were settled on the game reserve last year by the World Wildlife Fund and Ezembelo KZN Wildlife Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, said spokesperson Pam Sheriffs.
Fifteen black rhino were originally settled on the game reserve, which is part of the greater Munyawana game reserve.
The sex of the calf was still unknown, Sheriffs said, since it was keeping to the bush and long grass.
Phinda staff would monitor the area inhabited by the mother and calf are to make sure that they are not being disturbed by either man or predators such as lions.
The gestation period for a rhino is 15 months, so the cow was pregnant when she was released in Phinda. If she were too stressed, she would have lost the calf.
WWF project leader Dr Jacques Flamand said the successful birth showed that the rhino had settled well in their new environment.
He said the personnel were now looking forward to the birth of the first calf conceived at Munyawana.
The Black Rhino Range Expansion Project's aim is to increase the numbers of these critically endangered animals by increasing the land available for their conservation.
- SAPA
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