A male southern white rhinoceros was born early this morning and his mother, Madiba, is in good health, said Pairi Daiza,a privately owned zoo and botanical garden located in Brugelette in the province of Hainaut in a statement.
An estimated 18,000 southern white rhinos are still in the wild, but the subspecies are killed by illegal hunters every eight hours.
Another species of rhinoceros, the world’s second largest land mammal, the northern white- headed rhinoceros is threatened with extinction and only two species are still alive.
It is understood that only a pair of northern white rhinoceros survive and that they will be extinct if the animal gene is not conserved or restored through an artificial breeding program.
Last July, a southern white-headed rhinoceros was born through permanent incarceration in San Diego.
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