A 3-week-old greater one-horned rhino calf received a morning bottle feeding at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. After his feeding, he ventured out of his nursery stall for some fresh air and exercise with his keepers. The male calf, yet to be named, was born on 27 November to first-time mother Kaya in the Safari Park’s Asian Plains exhibit.
The calf was small at birth, weighing about 160 pounds (the average birth weight for this species is 160 to 176 pounds). While Kaya nursed and cared for her newborn for almost two weeks, keepers monitoring the calf realized he wasn’t gaining weight as he should. To provide the calf with the optimal care to thrive, he was taken to the Safari Park’s animal care centre where he is watched around-the-clock and bottle-fed every two hours.
Since the calf is being raised in a nursery setting, it is important for him to get daily exercise. After only a week in the nursery, the little rhino is growing stronger and gaining weight at almost four pounds a day. He currently weighs 190 pounds and when full grown can weigh between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds — via Youtube
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