Sun City visitors who venture into the Pilanesberg National Park could be lucky enough to get a sighting of an adorable baby white rhino.
Pilansberg, South Africa (23 August 2021) – During an afternoon game drive in the park, the Mankwe “Game Trackers” field guides stopped their vehicles near where the calf and its mother were standing. It drew closer to inspect the strange “metal animals” that had stopped near to them but thought better of it and went running back to its mothers’ side.
Rhinos once roamed throughout Europe, Asia and Africa, and were known to early Europeans who depicted them in cave paintings. Within historical times, they were still widespread across Africa’s savannas and Asia’s tropical forests. But today, very few rhinos survive outside protected areas. And all five species are threatened, primarily by poaching.
The challenge Rhinos also face is the fact that the species has a very low reproductive rate.
In rhinoceroses, females do not conceive until about six years of age; gestation is long – 16 months in most species – and they give birth to only one calf at a time. The period of birth between calves can range from 2 to 4.5 years. The loss of several breeding-age females to poachers can greatly slow the recovery of rhinoceros populations.
So news of a new little calf born anywhere in the world should always be celebrated!
by 