Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden
Another successful rhino birth in Budapest Zoo!
October 22, 2008
Lulu, the already world famous 28-year-old southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum), gave birth to her second calf at the Budapest Zoo at 04:47 a.m., today.
This birth again is a major sensation in the world of biological research regarding wildlife conservation, since Lulu was conceived through artificial insemination but this time with use of frozen sperms of a male rhinoceros (Simba) from Colchester Zoo, UK. Both veterinarians of Budapest Zoo and specialists of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz Institut für Zoo- und Wildtierforschung) have worked very hard for such a successful achievement.
Lulu’s calf is a healthy boy and weighs approximately 60 kilograms. At the moment the rhino baby does not need any hand rearing, this is the reason why zoo keepers and veterinarians do not disturb the little family.
To help Lulu and son get fast acquainted to the new situation, zoo visitors are not yet allowed to come close to the animals’ enclosure. However they may observe them on a large screen located inside the savanna exhibit or on the zoo’s website.
