NEED TO KNOW
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A new eastern black rhino has been born in the wild in Kenya
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The critically endangered rhino calf brings the small subpopulation in its region to nine, and there are an estimated 583 mature eastern black rhinos in the wild overall
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Black rhinos were hunted for their horns in the 1970s, which drastically decreased their population numbers
A critically endangered eastern black rhino calf has been born!
Wildlife researchers based in Kenya have confirmed the birth of a wild eastern black rhino, a critically endangered species, according to ABC News. The rhino, the second born in two years to a small group of rhinos in the Chyulu Hills, represents a hopeful step towards conservation efforts in the area, according to the Big Life Foundation, which helps support wildlife in the region.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the eastern black rhinoceros as a critically endangered species with an estimated 583 mature individuals left in the wild.
The new rhino calf is estimated to be about 6 months old, researchers said. The sex of the new arrival is not yet clear. This latest birth brings the eastern black rhino population in the Chyulu Hills to nine, Big Life stated.
Big Life Foundation
Namunyak and her rhino calf.
“They are the last survivors of a population that once stretched the length of the Chyulu Hills, and was one of the densest concentrations of black rhinos in East Africa,” Big Life’s statement about the baby rhino and its species read. “The survival of this distinct subpopulation, and its genes, is vital.”
Researchers first believed there might be a new calf in the small group in the spring when rangers — a group of 63 regularly surveying the area — saw small, “distinct” baby rhino footprints following behind the footsteps of a larger rhino, presumably its mother, Amy Baird, deputy director of Big Life, told ABC.
Soon after discovering the footprints, rangers wondered if a 14-year-old rhino in the group named Namunyak was the mother. Usually, she’d make regular appearances on Big Life’s camera traps, the organization’s statement added, but she hadn’t been seen for months, which hinted at the possibility of a pregnancy.
Rangers’ suspicions were confirmed when they once again saw Namunyak grace the camera screens with a small calf following behind her. They believe a male rhino named Chester is the calf’s father.
“Every time we see it, it’s moving around and being joyful — acting like you would think a cute little baby rhino would,” Baird told ABC.
Big Life delayed the rhino’s birth announcement because calfs are extremely vulnerable in their first months. But now, at six months old, the calf’s “chance of survival increases every day,” per the organization. “If all goes well, this calf could live until 2065.”
Munib Chaudry/Getty
Namunyak the eastern black rhino
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Eastern black rhinos in the area were heavily poached for their horns in the 1970s, resulting in a significant decline in their population size, ABC reported. Until the late 1990s, experts believed the species had gone extinct. Only when rangers discovered a hidden population that had avoided human contact for years did scientists learn otherwise.
Read the original article on People
