Rhino Calf's Big Bottles Bringing the Brawn

Now for something ridiculously cute. This three-week-old greater one-horned rhino calf (the largest of the rhino species) is already a big boy. He requires a lot of nourishment. When the calf was not gaining as much weight as expected while living with his mother, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park staff began to hand-feed him the large bottle shown here every two hours. The as-yet unnamed calf, who gulps his bottles down, has gained weight ever since. Adding 30 pounds since birth, the rhino now weighs in at 190. Adult rhinos weigh between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds. The calf is watched around the clock by staff in the meantime, and is taken outdoors for exercise daily.

Once plentiful in Southeast Asia, the greater one-horned rhinoceros is now found only in India and Nepal. The species is listed as endangered due to poaching. There are an estimated 3,250 greater one-horned rhinos remaining in the wild. This calf is the 68th of the species born at the park since 1975, making the facility the leader in the world for breeding of this species. 

Images: Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo Safari Park

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