Critically endangered eastern black rhino falls pregnant at zoo in Wales

An incredibly rare eastern black rhino is pregnant at a zoo in Wales.

Dakima, six, is expecting her baby in January next year, after she was introduced to Nkosi, eight, last year in an attempt to breed the pair.

She isn’t showing a bump yet, so to confirm the pregnancy staff at the zoo had to test her poo to check for pregnancy hormones, which showed she was indeed expecting a new calf.

There are thought to be fewer than 650 eastern black rhinos left in the wild and just 88 in zoos across Europe.

‘We’re over the moon to announce that our lovely Dakima is pregnant,’ Tim Morphew, zoo curator at Folly Farm in Pembrokeshire, said.

‘Similar to any human pregnancy it’s still early days at the moment but, if all goes well, we can expect our new arrival early next year.

‘As part of the Endangered Species Breeding Programme for eastern black rhino, we knew we would be receiving a female rhino, but it wasn’t guaranteed that she would get on with Nkosi let alone become pregnant.

‘We’re proud to be playing a part in increasing numbers of these fantastic animals in captivity and hopefully ultimately in the wild.’

Tim said they had been making adjustments to the rhino enclosure to make it safe for the new arrival.

‘We’ll need to baby proof the enclosure, making sure there’s no sharp corners and the new baby is safe, as well as prepare for Dakima’s birth creating a new bed to make it as comfortable as possible,’ he said.

Describing how the momentous occasion occurred, he said: ‘We’ve been working with Dakima and Nkosi for a few months, slowly and carefully introducing them to each other when she was in season. Mating with these species can be very explosive and if she wasn’t in the mood – she’d be sure to let him know!’

The new baby will be the first rhino to be born in Wales.