A BABY white rhino has been hailed as "a ray of hope" after making history at West Midland Safari Park. Hope, the new baby rhino, makes an appearance at West Midland Safari Park.
The seven-week-old has not been officially named - but staff at the Bewdley park are calling him Hope after he became the first rhino to be born at the park after 30 years of trying.
Hope's parents, Sharka and Tootsie, had been specially imported from Africa. Head warden Bob Lawrence said it was "desperately important" that new rhinos were bred.
He added: "There are only 12,000 left in the world. He's the first one ever born at the park and we're calling him Hope as he's a ray of hope in the middle of the foot and mouth crisis."
Tootsie's 18-month pregnancy was diagnosed with the help of the Zoological Society of London, which helped by testing samples of dung for hormone levels.
Hope weighed in at 150lbs when born on March 1.
He is the sixth white rhino at the safari park, and staff are hopeful more will be bred in the future as the species is highly endangered.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article