Hannah, a 13-year-old white rhinoceros, has given birth to a male calf named Silverio at the Buin Zoo in Santiago, Chile.
This rare event marks only the third time a white rhino has been born in South America. Silverio, born two weeks ago, was unveiled to the public after 12 days of medical care.
The birth of Silverio is a significant achievement for global conservation efforts. Over the past year, only eight other southern white rhinos have been born. This success is particularly notable as other zoos in Latin America have struggled to breed white rhinos.
Hannah and Oliver, a pair of southern white rhinos brought to Chile from sub-Saharan Africa over a decade ago, have now produced three calves at Buin Zoo. Ignacio Idalsoaga, the zoo director, emphasized the importance of this birth, noting the dwindling numbers of white rhinos in the wild.
Southern white rhinos are classified as “nearly endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). There are just over 10,000 southern white rhinos left, with the majority living in zoos. This is an improvement from the late 19th century when the species was nearly hunted to extinction.
However, the future remains uncertain. Rhinos face threats from hunters seeking their horns, and their ability to reproduce in captivity is challenging due to long gestation periods and reproductive difficulties.
Conservationists report that humans are the only predators of rhinos, killing about 1,000 rhinos each year. With only around 17 rhino births annually, efforts like those at Buin Zoo are crucial for the species’ survival.
