Zoo Atlanta Welcomes First White Rhino Calf on Christmas Eve: 'Beyond Excited'

“Mother and calf will have an opportunity to continue to bond behind the scenes before entering the rhino habitat,” the zoo said

A zoo in Georgia had quite the Christmas present — its first ever baby white rhinoceros.

Zoo Atlanta announced on Christmas that one of its southern white rhinoceroses named Kiazi gave birth to a calf on Christmas Eve, marking the first time this specific breed of rhino was born at the zoo and the second time a rhino was born there overall.

“The Zoo Atlanta family is beyond excited about the birth of Kiazi’s calf. This birth has been long-awaited news for many months,” said Raymond B. King, president and CEO, in the news release. ”We have had many exciting developments in our rhino population over the past year.”

Zoo Atlanta noted that the calf “appears to be healthy and strong, and that its mother Kiazi is “providing appropriate maternal care,” as she previously gave birth to two calves before moving to the zoo in 2021.

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“Mother and calf will have an opportunity to continue to bond behind the scenes before entering the rhino habitat,” the zoo said.

It shared a photo of the mother and calf on social media walking in their containment area side by side. The mother appeared to have a brown coat, while her calf, who appeared to be less than a quarter of her size, had a gray coat.

The zoo bred Kiazi and fellow 12-year-old rhino Mumbles as part of a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Its Animal Care and Veterinary Teams first detected Kiazi’s pregnancy in early 2023 and have carefully monitored her and the baby since then.

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Kiazi has had a long journey to giving birth to the calf, as southern white rhinoceros pregnancies are “among the animal kingdom’s longest” and usually average between 16 months and 18 months, according to the zoo.

“If there is a special connection that our Members and guests can make with Kiazi and her calf, this is a connection that can translate to conservation action,” King noted. “All rhino species are currently in peril, and as stewards of this brand-new ambassador here in Atlanta, we also have a responsibility to do all we can to raise awareness of the status of wild rhinos.”

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The last time a rhino calf was born at the zoo was in 2013, and the eastern black rhino had been the first rhino in the zoo’s 134-year history.

According to the zoo, southern white rhinos are the largest of the five rhino species and are listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The reason behind their classification is that the rhinos often travel in herds in the wild, which makes them an easy target for packers looking to get ahold of a rhino horn.

White rhinos can be found in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, according to World Wildlife, and there are only about 18,000 of the species that exist in "protected areas and private game reserves."

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