(RNN) The Saint Louis Zoo welcomed a rare black rhinoceros recently. The rhino calf was named Moyo, which means “heart” in Swahili. The new addition is a member of a critically endangered species; only about 65,000 black rhinos are left in the world.
Though he’s tiny now, as an adult, Moyo could weigh up to 3,100 pounds and run up to 34 miles per hour. The new rhino is only the second black rhino to be born at the zoo in 26 years, and he’s the tenth to be born at the zoo in its history.
Caretakers say Moyo and his mom, Kati Rain, are bonding and doing well. The calf enjoys romping around his enclosure and having caretakers rub his nose with a brush.
The black rhinos at the Saint Louis Zoo are part of a program aimed at managing a genetically healthy population of black rhinos among zoos in North America. Moyo became the 60th Eastern black rhino to reside at one of the 26 Association of Zoos and Aquariums institutions. His birth is part of the AZA’s Black Rhino Species Survival Plan.
It’s unclear when Moyo will make his public debut.
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