After nearly 16 months of pregnancy the Indian rhinoceros Namaste of Rotterdam Zoo has given birth last night to a healthy female calf. The birth could be viewed online via the webcams installed in the enclosure. Probably, many enthusiasts had only a few hours of sleep last night because the delivery of the baby-rhino took place at 3.02 AM, and was announced via twitter earlier that day. The first contractions were noticed by the zookeepers around 4 PM yesterday afternoon. They already had Namaste kept inside because she was restless and refused any feed, which are signs of a forthcoming birth. After some exciting hours a lively calf was born, which drank her first colostrum within half an hour. Namaste is an experienced mum who has already given birth to 5 healthy young.
Quite unique for rhinoceroses the successful romance of Namaste with male Fanindra could be visualised with ultrasound technique. The zookeepers with much patience taught Namaste to lie down for her weekly pedicure. This provided the Zoo’s veterinarian the opportunity to make an ultrasound during her pregnancy, which is rather special for the often unapproachable rhinos. So in this case, they were able to confirm the results of the blood pregnancy test, conducted earlier, with the ultrasound.
The ultrasound (freeze-frame as well as moving) can be seen here:
<new> Footage of the birth <new>:
Mother and calf are doing very well and are on display, but when you are not able to visit Rotterdam Zoo or want to follow the rhino activities over a longer period a webcam has been installed in the enclosure. So visitors can watch Namaste from their own living-room. The webcam footage is available here.
Nowadays Indian rhinoceroses can only be found in zoos and in nature reserves in their natural habitat in North India, where they are seriously threatened by poachers.
(Source: Rotterdam Zoo, 03.11.2012)
