CUTE ALERT: North Carolina Zoo’s newest addition ‘learning how to rhino’

ASHEBORO, N.C. — The North Carolina Zoo is continuing to celebrate the birth of its third southern white rhino.

The female calf was born Jan. 9, 2020 to mother Kit and father Stormy.

Learning to Rhino
Someone is learning how to rhino! Our southern white rhino calf enjoyed a break in the cold weather last week and discovered puddles! She will be visible to guests in the Spring.
Posted by North Carolina Zoo on Tuesday, February 18, 2020

On Tuesday, she was introduced to the public for the first time and enjoyed a break from the cold weather to learn “how to rhino!”

She was seen running around, splashing in puddles and getting some love from visitors.

At birth, she weighed about 100 pounds and is expected to gain 100 pounds a month in the first year, eventually reaching 3,500 to 5,500 pounds once she’s fully grown!

We've been waiting impatiently to meet this girl, and it's time you met her too! Mama Kit gave birth on Sunday to a female calf, and she's even cuter than we imagined.
More about southern white rhinos & #NCZoo: https://t.co/4WCysREYHH @ZooBorns @zoos_aquariums pic.twitter.com/F2EEM3yepy
— North Carolina Zoo (@NCZoo) January 9, 2020

“This is a great moment and testament to the dedication of our zoo staff,” zoo director Pat Simmons said in a news release. “These successful births are because of a lot of hard work and collaboration among our entire animal care staff.”

The female calf is the third southern white rhino born at the zoo in Asheboro in just under two years.

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The zoo’s 40-acre Watani Grasslands expansion was completed in 2008 and created for a breeding rhino herd.

There are now nine rhinos in the herd: male Stormy; females Linda, Kit, Natalie, Abby, and Olivia; and calves Nandi, Bonnie and the new addition, who hasn’t been named yet.

Zoo officials said southern white rhinos were hunted for their horns to near extinction by the beginning of the 20th century. They said the species still faces threats from poaching and habitat loss in the wild.