King the Rhino Takes Up Residence in Newly Built Palace

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: October 3, 2021 10:10 pm

King the black rhino explores the new Rhino Ridge habitat at Oregon Zoo

Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo

Oregon Zoo have welcomed King the black rhino who made the move from Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo. King has taken up residence in the new Rhino Ridge habitat.

King has been settling in at Rhino Ridge since he moved to Oregon on September 10th 2021. Guests may get to see him as he is getting acclimated in his new habitat.

Kelly Gomez, who oversees the zoo’s rhino area said, “So far, he’s settling in really well, with a lot of attention and encouragement from his care staff.”

King is well travelled having been born at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo in 2013 and then moved to Brookfield Zoo in 2016. His move to Portland comes from a recommendation by the Species Survival Plan for black rhinos. This is a cooperative program among accredited zoos in North America.

It is expected that a female black rhino will join King later in the fall.

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King is an eastern black rhinoceros, a critically endangered species. Their western cousins were declared extinct in 2011.

“King represents a species that’s among the most endangered on the planet,” Gomez said. “Poaching and the illegal wildlife trade have wiped out 96% of the world’s black rhino population. In South Africa alone, we’re losing almost a rhino a day. Hopefully, we can help inspire a new chapter in the conservation of this incredible species.”

Rhino Ridge was one of the eight major projects at Oregon Zoo which was funded by a community supported bond measure in 2008.