Last July, we at the Nikita Kahn Rhino Rescue Center and throughout San Diego Zoo Global were thrilled to welcome little Edward, the first rhino birth at the Rescue Center. Since then, we’ve been watching and marveling at his development under the loving eye of his awesome mom, Victoria. Now we’re about to experience that heart-swelling joy all over again— another little set of hooves is expected any day now!
Southern white rhino Amani is doing very well and we’re quickly approaching her due date of November 8. We’ve seen some physical changes in her this week and we continue to monitor her frequently. She is also starting to slow down a bit and seems less eager for her training sessions. She still readily participates, but seems to be tiring a little at this point. She spends nights with Wallis, another female, in the barn with an outdoor yard attached. We’re continuing once-a-week abdominal ultrasounds—and we can see the baby kick from outside every once in a while!
We were very lucky to have such a smooth and textbook birth for Victoria, but the keeper team is ready for a new and possibly unpredictable scenario with Amani. Her birth could progress and look quite different from Victoria’s and we’re all prepared for that.
On another note, Edward just turned 3 months old, weighs 550 pounds and has several teeth. Helene and Livia have been added to his crash and he loves having other rhinos to play with.
Jonnie Capiro is a lead keeper at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
