New rhino named in Ramat Gan safari
White rhinoceros to be called Tupak, the Swahili word for ‘fighter’
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
A baby white rhinoceros born last week at the Ramat Gan Safari has been named Tupak, the safari said on Sunday.
Websurfers chose the name, Swahili for “fighter,” from a list of four possibilities presented by the safari via the Hebrew-language Ynet website.
Tupak scored 41 percent of the vote, beating out three other Swahili name options meaning “Thankful,” “Morning,” and “Sweet.”
The safari said in a statement that it hopes Tupak will “help in the battle to maintain the rhino population, which is dying out.”
He is the 28th rhino born at the safari, which is among the world leaders in rhino breeding — an accomplishment attributed to the similarity between Israel’s climate and that of the species’ natural habitat in the African wilderness.
In a few days Tupak and his mother, Tendra, will be allowed to join his father Atari and the rest of the rhino herd alongside the other animals in the Africa section at the park. There the 50-kilogram (110-lbs) calf will mix with zebras, antelopes, wildebeest and hippopotamus, among others.
It was Tendra’s fourth calf. The 23-year-old rhino has been at the safari for 13 years and last gave birth in September 2014 to a female calf, the first in 20 years to be born at the safari.
At the time, the new arrival caused quite a stir, as it was announced that unlike the males, she would stay at the safari to continue the line.
A safari spokeswoman said Tupak will stay with the herd for a few years before being transferred to another zoo abroad.
Last year Atari, 36, fathered another female calf born to the-then six-year-old Keren Peles.
