The Denver ZooA zoo in Colorado is celebrating the arrival of its first greater one-horned rhino calf.
The Denver Zoo welcomed the little female, who is yet to be named, when she was born on February 22 to first time mum, Tensing.
The 13-year-old mother bonded with her little bundle of joy immediately, nursing, grooming and napping with her new child soon after the birth.
The Denver ZooTensing and her calf are being allowed to strengthen their mother-daughter relationship while The Denver Zoo animal care team is on hand behind the scenes for the next six to eight weeks, ensuring everything goes to plan.
Announcing the birth, Brian Aucone, senior vice president for animal sciences at the zoo, said:
It’s a significant event for several reasons, including the fact that this is the first greater one-horned rhino born at Denver Zoo, and because it was another very important step in reproductive science for animals in the wild and human care.
But, the baby rhino’s birth is more important than many people would imagine. It comes after a group of experts from AZA-accredited zoos conducted 11 unsuccessful artificial insemination procedures with Tensing before she finally fell pregnant in December 2018.
The Denver ZooThe zoo’s assistant pachyderm curator, Lindsey Kirkman, added:
Tensing’s journey from pregnancy to motherhood exemplifies the care our team provides to ensure our animals are able to voluntarily participate in their own medical care.
It took extraordinary patience and dedication over countless hours to make Tensing feel at ease with the artificial insemination and ultrasound procedures that ultimately resulted in a healthy mom and calf.
Welcome to the world, baby rhino, and welcome to motherhood, Tensing.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.