Lansing Zoo is Celebrating Birth of Endangered Black Rhino
History was made in Lansing on Christmas Eve at the Potter Park Zoo.
The Zoo posted to social media that for the first time in their 100 year history, they had an endangered black rhino calf birthed at the zoo.
According to the Twitter post, the 12-year-old mama rhino, Doppsee, delivered her calf around 5:40 am on Christmas Eve.
The zoo says that it took about 90 minutes for the male calf to stand up, but since has been nursing well. The zoo also says veterinarians will monitor the mom and calf for the next couple of weeks. And if you're wondering, no, they still haven't named the new baby.
According to Wikipedia,
The black rhinoceros is native to eastern and southern Africa including Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Although the rhinoceros is referred to as black, its colors vary from brown to grey
While the population is rising around the world, the black rhino is considered "critically endangered" with less than 5,000 still in the wild, according to the Potter Park Zoo blog, so the Christmas Eve birth is a big win for the conservation world.