An Indian rhino has been born in Ireland for the first time at Fota Wildlife Park in Co Cork.
The male calf was born on September 19th, after a gestation period of 16 months, to mother Maya and father Jamil. He was the second of only three Indian rhino calves to be born in any zoo in the world this year.
The public have been asked to help name the young rhino and can do so at on the wildlife park’s website.
Maya was born at Rotterdam Zoo and is almost 10-years-old. She came to Fota in early 2020 from the Botanical Garden Branfér in Nantes, France, just before the Covid-19 pandemic, as part of the European Endangered Breeding Programme (EEP).
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Jamil, who is nine-years-old, was born in ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in the UK and came to Fota in June 2015. Each adult rhino weighs approximately two tonnes.
The Indian rhino is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with 3,300 living in the wild. The illegal trade of poaching rhino horn for traditional medicine poses the biggest threat to the species.
Aidan Rafferty, lead ranger at Fota, said the park was “delighted” to announce the birth and that it was “hopefully the first birth of many to come”.
“Both mother and baby are doing really well. Maya is very protective and is constantly by his side. We’re delighted to see the little calf running around and playing. He is an absolutely gorgeous animal and he’s getting stronger and more curious every day,” he said.
“At the moment, he’s not on view very often to the public as he’s inside the rhino house with his mother and is gradually getting accustomed to going outside for brief periods. The best opportunity to see him is later in the afternoon. As he gets older and stronger, he’ll be introduced to the remainder of the rhino habitat, which features grass meadows, mud pools and a lake area.”
