Australian zoo welcomes 1st southern white rhino calf born in decade

STORY: Australian zoo welcomes 1st southern white rhino calf born in decade DATELINE: March 23, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:18 LOCATION: SYDNEY, Australia CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the southern white rhino calf STORYLINE: The Werribee Open Range Zoo in the Australian state of Victoria has been celebrating the arrival of a southern white rhino calf, which is the first calf of this threatened species to be born at the zoo in almost a decade. The zoo said in a statement on Thursday that following a 16-month pregnancy, first-time mother Kipenzi gave birth just before 4:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday to the female calf who weighed just over 60 kilograms. Both Kipenzi and the newborn has been carefully monitored by veterinarians and zookeepers. According to the statement, keepers observed an absence of healthy bonding after birth, with the calf not thriving as expected during the first hours of infancy. It was later brought to the zoo's vet clinic for medical checks and supplementary feeding. This