White rhino gives birth at Ramat Gan Safari
Rihanna becomes a mother for the first time, to male calf Rami
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
The Zoological Center Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan announced on Monday that one of its rhinos had given birth to a healthy male calf and that mother and son were both doing fine.
Rihanna, named after the Barbados-born R&B singer, gave birth last week, the zoological park, commonly known as the Ramat Gan Safari, said in a statement.
It was Rihanna’s first time giving birth, and the 7.5-ton new mother was reportedly embracing her new role, nursing and caring for the calf.
The safari said that staff decided to name the calf “Rami” after the long-time head of the Africa section, who has worked at the park for 30 years and recently marked his 60th birthday.
A year and a half ago, keepers became aware of Rihanna’s romantic liaison with Atari, a male rhino in the herd, and a pregnancy soon followed.
Days before the birth keepers noticed that Rihanna’s udders began to fill, and that she was secluding herself behind foliage in the Africa enclosure where the rhino herd lives. Safari workers took that as a sign that the birth was approaching and last week keepers who arrived early in the morning found proud Rihanna and her baby calf, who was born before dawn.
Keepers gently encouraged the mother and calf to to enter the “maternity” enclosure in the Africa section, where they can get some peace and quiet without being bothered by the rest of the herd.
Although they are kept separate, the remaining 12 rhinos at the safari can still see Rihanna and Rami through the dense vegetation surrounding the maternity wing. Keepers hope that will ease their acceptance when they eventually return to the herd.
The white rhinoceros, also known as the square-lipped rhinoceros, is in danger of extinction. Some 78 zoos are taking part in a European breeding project that so far numbers 301 rhinos. The Ramat Gan Safari has a larger herd than any in Europe and so far there have been 29 white rhinos born at the park, the safari said.
Atari has been doing his bit for the species, having fathered a male calf with another female, Tendra, last August and after having sired a female calf with mate Keren Peles the year before.
