SINGAPORE: Donsa the white rhino gives birth to a female baby at the zoo

Record ID: 185685

  • Title: SINGAPORE: Donsa the white rhino gives birth to a female baby at the zoo
  • Date: 29th November 2002
  • Summary: (L!2) SINGAPORE (NOVEMBER 29, 2002) (REUTERS ) VARIOUS: OF NEW-BORN RHINOCEROS "BABY" WALKING WITH MOTHER DONSA. (2 SHOTS) VARIOUS: "BABY" PLAYING WITH OTHER RHINOCEROS IN THE ENCLOSURE. (5 SHOTS) MV: MORE OF RHINOCEROS IN ENCLOSURE. SLV: "BABY" PLAYING IN MUD AND MOTHER LOOK ON. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) RHINOCEROS KEEPER, RAM SUPPIAH, SAYING: "First, we have some diffi
  • Embargoed: 14th December 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SINGAPORE.
  • Country: Singapore
  • Topics: Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVA4ZQ9V19B617AE8XIJFNWBCB3G
  • Story Text: A white rhinoceros has been born in the Singapore Zoo - the fifth of the endangered species to be born in captivity there.
    Zookeepers had been hopeful that 18 year-old Donsa was pregnant, but had been unable to get close enough to the skittish rhino to be sure.
    So when on November 13 they noticed Donsa was no longer alone in her den they were delighted to confirm that she had given birth to a healthy female baby.
    The Singapore Zoo now has a white rhino family of seven - Donsa, father Hopal, and a second mother, Shova, as well as one little male and now four little females.
    The Zoo considers the fifth birth to be a milestone in its efforts to preserve endangered species. There are only about 5,000 white rhinos left in the world.
    Rhino keeper, Ram Suppiah (pronounced rum soo-pee-ah), said the zoo had brought in more rhinoceroses into the enclosure to increase chances of successful breeding.
    "First, we have some difficulties to breed them because that time we have one pair, one male and one female. So that's the time we didn't breed any rhinos. So we discussed, the management people discussed and we brought more females, because they are group animals. They are not like the Indian rhinos or the Black rhinos, they are really group animals, they like to stay with the group. So when we brought the two females from South Africa, that's the time the mating occurs in the group," he said.
    Native to Africa, the white rhino is the largest of its species, standing as tall as 2 metres (6 and a half feet) at the shoulder and weighing up to 2,300 kilograms (5,000 pounds).
    The 'white' in white rhinoceros does not refer to the animal's colour but is derived from the Afrikaans word for wide - a reference to the wider lips of the white rhino which distinguishes it from the otherwise very similar black rhino.
    Their only predator is man, who hunts them for their horns, which according to local folklore in some parts of the world have medicinal qualities.
    The average life span of the white rhinoceros is 35 to 40 years.
    Zookeepers have yet to name the new arrival, calling her simply 'Baby' while they wait for visitors to vote for a suitable African name for her.
    'Baby' weights 45 kilograms and has started walking.
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