San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Baby One Horned Rhinos Explore Their Home

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: May 29, 2020 10:33 pm

Photo Credit: San Diego Zoo Safari Park

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park has introduced two greater one horned rhino calves and shared them enjoying their first opportunity to explore the park’s savanna recently.

Mothers Asha and Tanaya gave birth on March 25th and April 11th respectively and since then have been given the chance to bond with their calves in a private part of the park.

Asha’s calf has been named Arjun which is a Hindi word that can translate either as confidence or power. Tanaya’s calf is yet to be named.

Photo Credit: San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Tanaya and her calf were first to take to the park’s savanna, a 40 acre (16ha) enclosure which they share with a range of other Asian species.

Once on the savanna Tanaya started out by introducing her calf to one of her favorite activities, a dip in the mud wallow. Once they cooled off in the wallow they ventured across the savanna and met their neighbors, the blackbuck antelope.

Despite the tough armor like skin which covers their body Arjun was a little more nervous on his first trip to the savanna. He encountered a banteng, a cattle like animal, after venturing a few feet from mum and quickly returned to her safety.

Photo Credit: San Diego Zoo Safari Park

“It’s great to see Asha and Tanaya introducing their calves to other wildlife for the first time,” said Jillian King who is the senior wildlife care specialist at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

King continued, “Everything is new to the calves right now, so it will be interesting to watch them explore. We will keep a watchful eye on them, and look forward to them meeting more of the wildlife on the savanna soon.”

Photo Credit: San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Once found across large areas of Southeast Asia the greater one horned rhino is now listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Their numbers have been significantly reduced as a result of habitat loss, poaching and the illegal trade in rhino horn.

The population of rhino housed at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park is part of an insurance population managed between several accredited zoos. These births are the 74th and 75th calves at the Safari Park since 1975. They are the most successful greater one horned rhino breeding facility in the world.

Rhinos play an important role in their environment by keeping grass levels down and dispersing seeds through the environment.

The greater one horned rhino is also known as the Indian Rhinoceros.

Learn more about greater one horned rhino here – Indian Rhinoceros | The Animal Facts

Learn more about San Diego Zoo Safari Park on their website – San Diego Zoo Safari Park