Uhura and Umquali are the mothers to the four rhino calves born at the zoo. The herd’s youngest member, Kibibi (princess in Swahili) is the first female calf to ever be born at the zoo.

Kibibi has a wonderful relationship with zoo keepers and will often come over to the fence line for a pat. Kibibi’s mother Uhura, arrived from Singapore Zoo in December 2000 and her father Satara is our dominant breeding bull.

Kibibi Fun Facts:

• She was born on October 2, 2012
• When she was born she weighed approximately 30kg, but didn’t stay that weight for long!
• For roughly the first six months of their life rhino calves gain weight extremely rapidly, at a rate of around two to three kilograms a day

RHINO FACTS:

Southern White Rhinoceros roam the southern half of the African continent, in savannah and grassland habitats.

Bulls are solitary and establish territories by spraying urine and producing large faecal middens. Bulls will defend their territories from other males, which may choose to contest a particular male for the dominance of an area. While females usually live in small groups containing young adults.

There is an estimated 20,000 wild rhinos. One of the biggest threats to the wild population is poaching for the international rhino horn trade, which commands a high value on the black market for alleged medicinal purposes. This illegal trade has seen the incidence of poaching escalate hugely over the past ten years.

Rhino horns provide no proven medical benefit; the horn is made of a protein called keratin, which is also what makes up skin, fingernails, hair and hooves. This alleged cure for a range of medical aliments has resulted in needless death of hundreds of rhinos.