Indian rhinoceros calf was born in our Zoo
This year in the world , the eighth Indian rhinoceros calf was born in the Nyiregyháza Zoo, under closed conditions.
The birth of the small Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is a huge zoological success, as it requires serious experties to naturally mate these solitary animals that rarely breed in captavity.
While the female rhino is only fertile for a few days, the caretakers monitored her continuously, while the veterinary team tested hormone levels weekly to find the most optimal time for mating.
After the successful rendezvous, the pregnancy of the rhinoceros cow was continuously examined by our veterinarians and the development of the calf was monitored with ultrasound examinations and blood sampling. As the pregnancy progressed, the caretakers monitored the „new mother” through a camera system in the evenings, who gave birth to her calf on November 4, 2022 at 19:56.
The herd of Indian rhinoceros breeding in the country only in the Nyíregyháza Zoo currently consists of 3 sexually mature animals, which were brought to Nyíregyháza within the framework of the European Endangered Species Breeding Program(EEP).
The older cow, 14-year-old Jázmin, gave birth to her calf in 2018 (this animal was the first to be born in the country), and now Hans has a calf born to the 18-year-old sire from the other cow, 11-year-old Aruna.
The day-to-day life and growth of the currently 62-kilogram offspring has been continuously monitored by our park's specialists since then. Thanks to the 20-30 liters of mother's milk consumed daily, it gains 1-2 kg per day, and at the age of sexual maturity, its body weight will reach up to 3 tons.
The 25-year-old Nyíregyházi Zoo is also a serious professional success with the just-born Indian rhinoceros bull and the 11-week-old African elephant calf, since the breeding of the two most endangered pachyderms is already difficult in closed conditions.
