ALL good things come in threes, at least that’s what they are saying at Cotswold Wildlife Park.
Only the third white rhino to be born in the UK this year took its first tentative steps at the popular animal park near Burford last week.
On Tuesday, August 18, at 7pm, white rhino Nancy gave birth to her second male calf.
It came just five months after another white rhino at the park Ruby nuzzled her first calf Ian into the world.
This time, park keepers knew Nancy was pregnant, but the actual birth came as a bit of a surprise as it was a little earlier than expected.
Curator Jamie Craig said: “After almost 40 years of desperately trying to breed from our old group of rhinos with no success, we are delighted to now have had three calves since 2013.
“The newest member of the herd was somewhat more of a surprise than we’d like, but at present, all seems to be going well.”
White rhinos have a gestation period of approximately 16 months.
Mr Craig said births in captivity are considered extremely rare and only 14 white rhinos have been born in European zoos in the last 12 months. Cotswold Wildlife Park has been responsible for two out of the three recorded UK births.
The new addition is the sixth member to join the rhinos.
Visitors can see the new calf daily from 10am to 6pm. It has not yet been named.
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