Singapore Zoo welcomes baby white rhino

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Zoo has welcomed its newest addition, a Southern white rhinoceros calf, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) announced on Friday (Dec 27).

The female calf, which is yet to be named, was born on Dec 19. Over the past week, the baby rhino has bonded with both her mother and the zoo keepers, said WRS.

WRS posted a video on its Facebook page on Friday showing the moment of the calf's birth, which included various clips of the calf with her mother and being brushed by her keepers.

The brushing helps the calf be "comfortable around keepers and less resistant to touch during future medical procedures," said WRS.

This is the 24th white rhino born at the Singapore Zoo since 1996. Seventeen of these calves have been sent to zoos overseas as part of a global animal exchange programme.

White rhinos — the joint largest species of land mammal after the elephant — are considered near threatened in the wild, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

WRS said the calf is not out in the public eye yet, but zoo visitors should be able to catch a glimpse of her in about a month when she is ready to join the rest of the herd.