Critically endangered baby black rhino makes its debut at Cleveland zoo

By SUE OGROCKI

CLEVELAND (AP) — A critically endangered rhino made its public debut Friday at a Cleveland zoo, dashing about its enclosure and giving a boost to the endangered species.

The 120-pound eastern black rhino was born earlier this month to 22-year-old mother Kibibbi and 25-year-old father Forrest at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The zoo has a long history of caring for the species, which has fewer than 583 adults in the wild, alongside global partners.

“He is very playful, runs around, gets the zoomies, so it’s very fun to take care of him, especially when they’re this age,” animal keeper Stefanie Titterington said as the calf explored the Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve.

Alex Budinger, a zoo visitor, was thrilled to catch a glimpse of the rhino that has not yet been named. The zoo is holding a contest for guests to choose from one of three names — Makena, Kenza or Kamari.

“We’re zoo members. We come here all the time, so we’re very excited that there’s a new baby to come and check out and we thought it was a great day to come out and see the rhino,” Budinger said. “It’s adorable and we enjoy coming and seeing it do some enrichment and chew up some pumpkins.”

South Africa has more than 2,000 of the 6,700 black rhinos left in the wild or in reserves and 12,000 to 13,000 of the world’s 15,000 remaining southern white rhinos, which are now listed as near threatened after a turnaround. Those two species are only found in the wild in Africa. South Africa has a pivotal place in saving them but also is the epicenter of rhino poaching that is linked to organized crime.

Eastern black rhinos are one of several subspecies of black rhinos.