Story By: Joseph Golder / Newsflash
This is the moment a newborn white rhino calf wobbles on its unsteady legs after being born during the night to its mother Renette.
The birth took place in the city of Krenglbach in the Austrian state of Upper Austria at Zoo Schmiding in the early hours of Tuesday morning, 2nd December.
Schmiding Zoo/Newsflash
Keepers found the healthy calf during their first morning check at about 6:30am after Renette delivered it in the night.
Video recordings showed the exact birth time was 2:34am, with the zoo confirming that this was the sixth white rhino calf born there.
The zoo said recent days had shown Renette becoming increasingly restless and repeatedly sprinting in the outdoor enclosure. A possible indication the long 16-month gestation was nearing its end.
The calf is seen sniffing its surroundings and following its mother on its wobbly legs, and keepers reported it had already had its first meal of its mother’s milk.
Renette was described as exhausted on the day after the birth but still positioned herself protectively in front of the calf whenever keepers entered the stall.
The zoo said regular faecal analyses had confirmed the pregnancy in recent months, though predicting the exact birth date remained challenging due to the unusually long gestation.
The stall had been prepared with extra straw and non-slip rubber mats to ensure secure footing for the newborn.
The zoo said white rhinos are threatened in the wild due to poaching and habitat loss. With each successful birth seen as a valuable contribution to conservation.
Mother and calf are remaining in the stall for the coming days. While visitors can watch live images on a screen opposite the rhino barn.
The zoo said it will hold several ‘Meet the keeper’ sessions over the weekend. Where staff will speak about the newborn’s development.
The white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is listed as near-threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Species.
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