Last October 25, Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park in Florida has welcomed a new baby white rhino making the male calf the 11th white rhino born in the theme park since it opened in 1998, MailOnline reported.
His mother, Kendi, was the first white rhino born at Animal Kingdom in 1999. The male calf is unnamed until now, but he is set to join the park's "crash," the term for a group of rhinoceroses, in a few weeks. Guests aboard the Kilimanjaro Safaris will get the chance to see the calf in his natural habitat.
The theme park is also expecting more white rhinos in 2021 as two of their female white rhinos are pregnant.
The 11th white rhino in Disney's Animal Kingdom
In a press release from Walt Disney, they announced the big news of an endangered white rhino being born at their Animal Kingdom theme park last October 25. The male calf is the 11th white rhino born and the offspring of Kendi, which is the first white rhino born in the said theme park in 1999.
The park said in the news release that both mother and the calf are doing well under the watchful eyes of their keepers. "While rhinos are gregarious by nature; for now, the calf is resting, nursing and bonding with his mom," the park said.
Soon, the unnamed baby white rhino is set to join the "crash," a term used to call the group of rhinoceroses, at the savannah of the park where guests can see the calf in its natural habitat while aboard the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction, according to the park.
Furthermore, the news release said that the calf's mother, Kendi, was paired with another white rhino named Dugan through a Species Survival Plan led by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums which oversees the "responsible breeding of endangered species."
The theme park is also caring for two other pregnant white rhinos set to give birth sometime next year -- a significant milestone for the white rhinoceros species since they are an endangered species with a near-threatened status.
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Endangered white rhinos
The term white rhinoceros is not based on their color but from the Afrikaans word 'weit,' or 'wide which describes the animals' mouth. There are two types of them which are the southern and northern white rhinoceros.
However, both northern and southern white rhinos are facing detrimental risks that could wipe out their population. Like elephants, their horns are being targeted by poachers because many people in Asia believe that their horns can cure various diseases making their horns more lucrative than drugs, according to experts.
White rhinoceroses are the second-largest land mammals on the planet next to the elephant. Almost all of them originated from South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
As of now, only two southern rhinoceroses are alive living in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya while the last surviving male died in 2018. Their existence continues to be under threat from poachers, but thanks to conservationists, the population of their subspecies are slowly increasing.
Read More: Northern White Rhinos Are Facing the Threat of Extinction But Researchers Offer Good News
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