The Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium and Safari Park recently announced the birth of a white rhinoceros in the state of Arizona, the first one in many years.

On Nov. 7, a white rhino female calf, Masiki (or Siki for short), came into the world, joining her mom and dad, Zuri and Maoto. The rhino family are all doing exceptionally well.

Approximately ten years ago, Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park, situated in Litchfield Park near Phoenix, established a rhinoceros conservation breeding plan. This project entailed bringing in three unrelated orphaned female rhinos from South Africa, as well as an imported male rhino from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Kristy Hayden, President of Wildlife World, declared that the recent birth in the zoo was a significant one. The new baby rhino has established a new bloodline that will be essential in the conservation of the species in the years ahead.

Wildlife World warns that the entire rhino population is facing serious danger. At the beginning of the 1900s there were an estimated 500,000 of these animals living in the wild, yet presently only about 27,000 African rhinos remain.

When the Wildlife World obtained Zuri from Africa, they were able to provide a secure habitat in which to reproduce, away from the threat of poachers.

Click here for more information on the Wildlife World Zoo if you plan to visit the new baby rhino!