Lincoln Park Zoo welcomed a baby eastern black rhinoceros Thursday as part of a specialized breeding program for the critically endangered species.<\/p>\n
Kapuki, a 20-year-old eastern black rhino, gave birth to a female calf at 4:52 a.m. Thursday, zoo staff said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The calf weighed about 60 pounds at birth, and took her first steps just an hour and a half later. An eastern black rhinoceros<\/a> can gain 100 pounds in its first month of life. Adults can weigh up to 5,000 pounds, grow to be up to six feet tall and run as fast as 30 mph.<\/p>\n Curator Cassy Kutilek said the zoo was looking forward to watching the calf develop and snack on alfalfa hay and watermelon \u2014 her mom\u2019s favorite. Eastern black rhinoceroses have a 15- to 17-month gestation period.<\/p>\n The birth was set up through the Eastern Black Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan, an effort among members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This is Kapuki\u2019s third calf. She gave birth in to King 2013 and Romeo in 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cKapuki has proven to be such a great mother with her past two calves and we\u2019re seeing her tap right back into her maternal instinct with her new calf,\u201d Kutilek said. \u201cMom and calf are doing well and continue to hit their postpartum milestones, and we\u2019re excited for when we\u2019ll start seeing glimmers of the newborn\u2019s personality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n About 98% of the population was wiped out between 1960 and 1995 due to poaching and habitat loss, the largest decline among five living rhino species. The species is considered Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature<\/a>. Prior to the calf\u2019s birth, 55 eastern black rhinos were living in 27 zoos in North America. There are about 1,000 eastern black rhinoceros in the wild after 25 years of conservation efforts helped bring them back from the brink.<\/p>\n Other locally born rhinos have been part of the effort as well.<\/p>\n