PHOTO: Zoo announces birth of critically endangered rhino calf

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV/Gray News) - A zoo in Kansas City says it has welcomed a critically endangered rhinoceros to its population.

According to the Kansas City Zoo, Zuri, an eastern black rhinoceros, gave birth to a calf on New Year’s Eve with mom and baby doing well days later.

A zoo spokesperson said the calf is walking, nursing, and playing spar with mom, while Zuri has been a patient and attentive first-time mother.

KCTV reports the calf’s mother and father, Ruka, came to the Kansas City Zoo from the Oregon Zoo in April 2018.

According to zookeepers, the team is keeping the rhino barn quiet with limited human interaction to allow the mother and calf time to bond. An exam is expected to be performed in the coming weeks to confirm the gender and overall health.

A spokesperson for the zoo said there will also be an opportunity for the public to participate in naming the calf.

Zoo officials said about 740 eastern black rhinos are currently in the wild and another 53 are in accredited facilities, making the species critically endangered.