Female white rhino born in Ramat Gan

For the first time in 20 years, the Ramat Gan Safari has welcomed a female baby white rhinoceros.

Though two male rhinoceros calves have been born in the safari in recent years, the new arrival has caused quite a stir, as unlike the males, she will be staying in the safari to continue the line.

The facility usually transfers male rhinoceroses to other zoos in order to boost the reproduction rates of white rhinos, who were once thought to be extinct and are now classified as an endangered species amid threats such as poaching.

The safari staff on Tuesday said they were ecstatic when they realized the calf’s mother, Tanda, was putting on weight and that her mammary glands were swollen. The adult rhinoceros had recently given birth to a male calf.

The staff discovered the female calf in Tanda’s enclosure after she gave birth overnight.

“It’s been 20 years since a female rhinoceros was born here. The meaning of a female birth is that the calf will be able to stay here at the safari with us even after she reaches maturity, and that is a big source of happiness,” Rami Tam, head of the African section at the safari, said in a statement late Tuesday.

Mother and calf will soon be reunited with the safari’s other rhinos.