It’s a girl! First white rhino born in Zurich Zoo
A white rhinoceros has been born for the first time in Zurich Zoo. Visitors can see the baby girl from June 8, when zoos re-open.
Mother Tanda, 27, and baby are doing well, Zurich Zoo said on FridayExternal link. Tanda is already breastfeeding her baby, who was born on Thursday and as yet doesn’t have a name.
The latest zoo resident is the seventh baby for Tanda, who arrived – pregnant – at Zurich Zoo in December from an Israeli zoo, accompanied by two of her daughters and a young male. The gestation period lasted 487 days (16 months).
The white rhinos of Zurich Zoo live in the large new Lewa SavannahExternal link, which they share with giraffes, zebras, antelopes and ostriches. The area was inaugurated in the absence of the public due to the coronavirus crisis.
Closed enclosures
Not everyone is happy about how zoos have been treated during the pandemic. Industry umbrella association ZooschweizExternal link said on Thursday it was “incomprehensible” that museums could re-open from May 11 but not zoos and animal parks. This was “unequal treatment” which was “unacceptable”, it said.
Zoo visitors are mainly outside where the risk of infection is lower than in closed rooms in museums, it argued.
Although Swiss zoos are closed for the time being, that hasn’t stopped children at home from learning how the animals live and behave behind closed gates:
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