2-Oct-09 11:00 AM CST

Curious Giraffes Heralded Rhino’s Birth

Zookeepers knew something spectacular was occurring late Sunday night.

They knew something was happening when they spotted BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo’s four giraffes standing near the back of their exhibit, peering over a wall and staring.

Turns out, the giraffes were watching the birth of a black rhinoceros.

Four days later on Thursday morning, 21-year-old black rhinoceros Gemstone wouldn’t stop pacing.

Gemstone and her newly born female calf had been safely tucked away in a holding area to give them time to bond since the birth.

But just after 8:30 a.m. Thursday, zookeepers opened a gate between the holding area and the black rhinoceros exhibit and ushered the pair into their new home.

Seconds after Gemstone and the calf walked into the exhibit, Gemstone started pacing up and down the dirt a couple of feet away from the gate.

The entire time Gemstone paced, her 4-day-old calf trotted next to her.

Gemstone looked frustrated and snorted several times to show her displeasure with the new surroundings.

Sam Winslow, the zoo’s assistant director and curator, said Gemstone was snorting because she was nervous about being in a new location with the calf.

The birth was the first for a black rhinoceros in North American captivity in the last 12 months, said Mary Woods, a spokeswoman for the zoo. It’s one of three such births in the past 12 months worldwide.

The calf doesn’t have a name, but Woods said the zoo plans to have a naming contest soon so the public can get involved.

On Thursday, the 75-pound calf closely followed her mother.

News items on this page are from external sources and the International Rhino Foundation cannot be held responsible for the authenticity of their content, nor for the continuing presence of original links.

Click a star to rate!

Rating: 0.00 / 5.00 - Not yet rated.
0 ratings